Endless Winter
by Ziomy
Summary: This story begins when Bella comes back from Italy after saving Edward from the Volturi. Edward has given the ok on turning Bella into a vampire...now she has some difficult decisions to make.
1. Decisions

Bella's POV

I stood there for what felt like a million years wondering what I should do, what decision to make. I wanted to become a vampire more than anything. At least that's what I wanted before Edward decided to tell me that he never wanted to see me again, left me for months on end to drawn in my sorrows only to find himself in trouble with the Volturi and I had to fly out to rescue him from his own stupidity only to come back and be grounded for the rest of my life by Charlie.

I wanted to be with Edward, right? Edward was all I could think about, all I could dream about, being away from him used to feel like physical pain. He was everything to me before he left. But as I stood here looking at him – his green eyes staring back at me fiercely – my mind continued to wander toward Jake. Why? Flashes of my pale self appeared in my mind's eye with Jakes arms around me, fangs piercing my best friend's neck. NO! I could not become my best friend's enemy. Was this what I wanted to do? Could I live with myself – with Edward – like this for an eternity?

"Bella, it's time." He whispered.

"No!" I shouted, surprising us both. "No, I…I can't. I won't!" before thinking about it for a second longer I flew out the door of the Cullen House and ran without looking back or stopping. I tripped a couple times down the winding road scraping my knees in the process and ruining my Ruehl jeans but it didn't matter. I didn't know where I was headed; all I knew is that I had almost made the mistake of a lifetime.

You know the feeling you get when your mind wanders while you're driving and you can't remember most of ride home cause you were in an intense daze – that's what it felt like when I found myself standing in front of Jacob's door. I had run miles away from Edward's house to Jacobs Rez and I had no recollection of getting here - I hadn't even known that this is the way I was going. I just came to and poof, here I was.

At that very moment Mother Nature decided to open the flood gates and within seconds I was soaked to the bone. Daylight was quickly fading and I couldn't bring myself to raise my hand to the door and knock. I just stood there in a stupor staring at the door as if it were a Dali painting at an art museum.

What was I even doing here? I left Jake…worse, I left Jake for Edward. I doubt he ever wanted to see me again. I broke his heart by leaving Forks to chase after Edward in Italy. I left him after he helped me recover, after he helped me gained a new meaning to life. I couldn't even forgive myself. How could I ask him to forgive me?

After a couple more minutes of my brain malfunctioning I decided that I couldn't just stand out here in the darkness while it poured like it did in the Great Flood. Soon I'd have to start building an arc. Needless to say my down Gap jacket would never recover. I raised my hand to knock on the door but before my fist hit the wood the door swung open and there stood Jake looking as glorious as ever with a smile on his face. That smile quickly turned into a scowl the moment he laid eyes on me.

"What the hell are you doing here? Did the blood sucker leave you…again?"

Ok, so I guess I deserved that. I can't say that it didn't feel like he had physically punched me in the gut. I took a deep breath and swallowed back the knot in my throat.

"I'm sor-"

"Save it Bella." He cut me off. "You made your decision. Now, if you'll excuse me I have to meet Leah at Bosco's Pizza." He pushed passed me, got in his VW and sped off leaving me there with mud on my boots in a hole in the heart.


	2. Animosity

Jacob's POV

I could now finally understand the pain that Bella felt when her precious little leech left her. All these months of her suffering finally made sense to me…because I was now feeling what she felt when Edward left.

Seeing her get in the car and leave with the bloodsucker she called Alice was devastating to say the least. I was right there with her. I know she felt something – a connection. We had a moment and then it was all ripped away from me with a few simple words. "Edward's in trouble." Cause it wasn't bad enough that he broke her heart when he left. It wasn't enough that I had to look at her every day trying to recover – trying to hide what he'd done to her. Seeing her in misery, it made me sick to my stomach and all for what? And now here she was, the only girl I ever loved, the only girl I _could_ ever love, just waltzing on over in the midst of vampire royalty in order to save someone that didn't even love her enough to stay and protect her.

I heard the news that she came back with Edward two weeks ago. As happy as I was to know that she was ok I was furious at her for leaving. I know she said that she could never love me the way she loved him - that she would never get over Edward. But I couldn't help it. He didn't deserve her. He left her broken but I'm sure that didn't come in the way of their little _loving_ reunion.

Thinking of her with…it…well, it ate away at my soul. What's worse was that it was as if I didn't exist to her anymore. I didn't get any calls; she didn't stop by to say 'Hey Jake, I didn't die' – nothing. My dad could barely get me out of bed some days. One morning in particular he got out the pots and pans and started banging them together until I was severely annoyed enough to get out of bed. Leah Clearwater came over that day and called me all kinds of names. She could be quite abrasive at times.

"How could you fall in love with a leech lover?" She snapped at me. "Wake up and smell the leeches! You're acting like a pathetic lost little puppy. Snap out of it Jacob! She used you and now that she has what she really wants we can all see what you really meant to her – absolutely nothing! Now get dressed and let's go. She's not worth your tears or your pathetic little pouts."

"Do you see me crying? And stop calling me pathetic!" I yelled back.

"Whatever, you need to get out of this house and I know the one place that will cheer you up."

She walked to the closet, pulled out a pair of jeans and a black sweater then threw them at me. "You've got two minutes. If you aren't dressed by then I will come in and do it myself – and trust me, you do NOT want me to dress you." She said before slamming the door shut.

The intervention was a successful one. Ok, a semi successful one. It was awesome pizza and I wasn't as turned off by Leah as I thought I would be. She was actually pretty funny. We laughed and reminisced about the times our fathers would go fishing. We've known each other forever but were never close. But here she was to the rescue as she talked about every and anything other than Bella. It was the first time in months that I didn't think about her at all.

She took me to the movies afterwards saying that I needed some action thriller therapy. Neither of us knew what movies where out what so we choose White Demons at random. This turned out to be a big mistake. Of course by white demons they really meant vampires. Twenty minutes into the movie she pried off my grip on the arm rest and led me out of the theatre.

"You almost snapped that thing in half. I honestly don't know why you let those _things_ get you all riled up."

"Just take me home Leah. I just want to suffocate myself with my pillow and be done with it all."

She mumbled something under her breath that sounded like "so dramatic." but agreed to leave.

When we pulled up to my place I mumbled a quick "Thanks." before getting out of the car. I walked straight into the house, into my room and stayed there for the rest of the week.

And here I was. Today was just like every other day. The grey morning light shined too bright through the gap in the curtains blinding me awake. I rolled over and pulled the covers over my head like I did every morning. The knock on the door was like thunder to my ears – like it was every morning – only when I opened my eyes the windows showed that it was dark out. Rain poured down the side of the window. Great – I had lost another day.

"Jacob, Embry called. He said he wanted you to go patrolling with him tonight. She's back."

That was enough to have me jump out of bed and get dressed in a hurry. Victoria was back! I had to go see Bella. No! No, I did not need to see Bella. I could protect her without having to actually speak to her.

I pulled on a pair of old sweats and a white shirt and ran towards the door. I was pumped. Finally I could do something to one of those blood suckers and not have to feel bad about it. The thought of that was exhilarating. I swung open the door ready to rip Victoria to shreds and almost toppled over Bella in my hurry to leave.

The sight of her made my heart swell and then contract. How dare she come here now?

"What the hell are you doing here? Did the bloodsucker leave you…again?" she flinched at my words and I immediately regretted saying it. As much as she hurt me this was the girl I loved. I wasn't acting any better than Edward. Somehow, however, I was still unable to let what she did go.

She took a deep breath and then let it out slowly.

Anger flooded through me. Why did she look at me as if she was afraid of me? I wasn't the monster here. I wasn't the one who could kill her at any second.

"I'm sor-"

"Save it Bella." I said, cutting her off. Whatever she had to say, I wasn't interested. As long as she continued to date her _white demon_ then I wasn't going to be a part of her life. It's selfish but I didn't care. I was done waiting around for her, giving her all of me only to have her tear my heart out of my chest, throw it on the ground and stomp on it. What was so bad about being selfish for once?

"You made your decision. Now, if you'll excuse me I have to meet Leah at Bosco's Pizza." I lied. I couldn't look at her any more. Being this close to her made me want to take her away, somewhere far from the harm of the vampires. It was instinctual for me to want to keep her safe at all times. That, and if I looked at her anymore I would succumb to my emotions, haul her into my arms and kiss her without asking.

I practically ran to my car and revved it unnecessarily. I floored it and made my way towards Embry's house. I looked at my rear view mirror and my heart melted. Bella had slumped to the floor and buried her head in her hands. I had hurt her. Maybe I was more of a monster than I gave myself credit for.

"I love you Bella." I said to myself as I drove away. "But you're with him now, and as long as you stay with him my heart will continue to break."

Victoria had chosen the wrong time to show her pale little face in my territory. Not only will she pay for what James did, she will pay for everything Edward has done as well. Edward who didn't deserve to be with Bella, who has almost gotten her killed on more occasions that I can count, Edward who left her to die at the hands of the enemy while he was who knows where. She would be the one to suffer what I suffered when Bella left me.

Yes, Victoria would pay for everyone's sins and I would revel in it.


	3. Utter Confusion

Bella's POV

The night grew increasingly darker and the stars got brighter the longer I sat in front of Jacob's house. The rain was relentless soaking me straight to the bone. I had long abandoned all hopes of getting warm or dry for that matter. Now all I debated on was if I should keep my drenched coat on or if I would be better off taking the darn thing off. I decided that either way it didn't matter. I deserved to suffer in the cold. After all, that's what I was – cold.

I really had messed things up with Jake. I don't know why I came here. Maybe because I was scared that I was falling in the same trap as before, that I was going to forgive Edward after everything he had done to me. Maybe it was because I knew that Jake was the only one who could save me from myself.

Isn't it funny how you can think that you absolutely love someone, risk your life, your happiness for them but then they do something so unlike them, so out of character and that's what stays with you. It's like all the happy times that I spent with Edward were like a beautiful painting and when he left it was like he splattered black paint on the canvas obscuring all the beauty. It was like I couldn't see passed all the black. I thought I could forgive Edward. I thought that loving him would be enough, but it wasn't. Since when have I been the kind of girl to have someone break my heart that horribly and forgive him just like that?

I remembered a time in the sixth grade. I had a crush on boy named Alex Foster who lied to me about something I can't even remember anymore. He apologized profusely, bringing me candy and flowers to school but I never forgave him. Yet, here I go about to change my life, my entire existence to be with a person who left me. Sure, he says he left for my safety _blah, blah, blah_ but he lied just the same. What makes him any different than any other guy who has hurt me in the past?

He believed me too stupid to understand his reasons and so he just decided to tell me that he didn't want to be with me anymore in order for me to stay in Forks and not chase after him. 'I didn't want you to follow me' he said. Well, if I did follow him that's my choice right? I had a right to make my own decisions; my life was not up to him to decide upon. I was not _that_ girl. Yet just hours before I was about to let him turn me – but I ran. Thankfully, I ran… and I ended up here.

How silly was I to think that Jacob would even _see_ me, but I had to do _something_. I could not hurt Jacob any more. I wanted to apologize. I wanted him to know what he meant to me. I never meant to cause him any pain. That's the last thing I wanted. I was acting without thinking as was usually the case when it came to Edward. If I had to stay here all night with my knees stinging from the fall at Ed's, if I had to suffer through the cold then so be it, I would. I needed to see Jake. I needed to let him know that _I needed_ him.

I sat there in the mud hugging my knees to my chest. I cried so hard for what I did to Jake that anyone watching me wouldn't have known where the tears began and where the rain ended. I stood there like that for what felt like ages until sleep finally overcame me.

_The darkness swept over the night sky like a black veil. The feeling that something was terribly wrong swept through my veins digging its uncomfortable claws at the back of my mind. Even the stars were too terrified to come out. I had the strangest feeling that I was being watched. The woods surrounded me, threatening me, capturing me in its depts. Unwilling to let me go. Unseen creatures of my imagination hid away behind the trees. I felt the pressure of all their invisible eyes on me as I walked dawn the barely there path picking up my pace a little more every time I heard a rustling in the trees. I expected something fierce and dangerous to come out and attack me at any second. Faster and faster I floundered through the forest. The noises around me grew louder and louder and before long I was running through the thickness never being able to outrun my imaginary nightmares….and then he stepped out from behind a tree. Out of breath and out of energy I stopped, too terrified to go any further. He stretched out his hand to me. I shook my head violently. I could not go near him. This was a trick. He was pretending to be there to help but I knew his intentions were less than helpful. I took a step back – he took a step forward. "I will not hurt you. You can trust me." I stopped unable to make up my mind. Maybe he was just trying to help. Ignoring all the warnings my brain was trying to throw at me I took his hand. _

_The coldness of it was so intense it burned. Searing its way through my blood, chilling me deep to the bone and within an instant I felt the change come on. The fire building and building ready to explode at any moment. I realized then what was happening, the contact between us caused a transformation within me. I was changing. I was becoming a vampire. _

I was startled awake by the sound of heavy breathing coming from somewhere off to the side of Jacob's shed. Quickly I got to my feet. Images of my dream lingered in my mind scaring the bejesus out of me. I stepped closer to the shed. I was terrified yet curious to know what it was. The sound got louder the closer I got to the shed. It was like someone had finished a marathon and was completely out of breath.

"Who's there?" I yelled out into the darkness. I didn't get a response. I reached the corner where it opened up and peered in. I couldn't see anything. I stood there for a second letting my eyes adjust to the darkness of the interior.

"Hello?" I whispered this time. My adrenaline was pumping. Every self preserving mechanism in me was screaming to get the hell out but I couldn't bring myself to leave. I needed to know what was in here. I took a step inside and saw a mass lying in the middle of the floor.

"Is anyone in here?" And then I heard a dog whimper. A million things ran through my mind at once. Stupidly enough my first thought was there was some kind of hurt golden retriever. Then it occurred to me…um hello, earth to stupid, your best friend is a WEREWOLF! As soon as the light bulb went on I ran into the shed and to the mass on the floor. A giant grey wolf lay on the floor bleeding.

"Oh my God, Paul!" I looked around the shed to see if there was anything I could use to help him. I spotted a first aid kit in the far corner. I ran to grab it and came back. Only, it wasn't a grey wolf lying on the floor but a very naked Paul.

"Um…yeah, let me grab a tarp." I pulled off the tarp covering one of the bikes Jake helped me repair and covered Paul's …exposed self. I opened up the kit and took out the gauze and alcohol. My hands were shaking. Weren't werewolves supposed to heal quickly? There was a deep gash in his chest. I definitely didn't have enough gauze to cover that or even put pressure on it. What was I supposed to do? Just when I thought panic would overcome me Paul's hand snapped up and grabbed my wrist.

"Just…leave…get…out of…here…NOW." he forced out, each word followed by a gasp. He was in pain and there was nothing I could do to help.

"Shut the hell up Paul, seriously can't you put your pride aside for even a second? You're bleeding to death here."

"Move." He growled.

"Wha- ?"

But before I could finish he knocked me to the side, clearly beginning to recover. His growl was so long it almost sounded like a really big scary cat purr. Without warning he crouched over me - a ripping sound coming from his chest and before I knew it he was back in wolf form.

Ok, so I'm going to die and Paul was going to kill me. This is it. I shut my eyes as tight as I could waiting for the teeth to sink into me – it never came. A second growl came from somewhere outside of the shed quickly joined by a third. I opened my eyes, curiosity getting the best of me, just in time to see a whole lot of red hair coming toward me. I flinched as Paul's back paw scraped my chest as he pounced at what could only be Victoria. He was soon joined by a gray wolf with dark spots on his back and a Russet colored one.

I let out an involuntary scream.

"Jake no!" I tried to get up but Paul threw himself back on top of me with a little too much force knocking my head to the floor. The last thing I remembered was a whole lot of growling and Jake yelling "Where did she go?" followed by Embry shouting. "I don't know…she…just…disappeared." And then I was out for the count.


	4. Paul's Problem

Paul's POV

It was Embry and my turn to patrol the woods tonight so needless to say I was a little shocked to see Jacob pulling up to Embry's house in a fit of rage. He parked his speeding car, got out and slammed the door shut with way too much anger. Uh oh, this was going to be a pleasant evening.

The door flung open slamming against the wall threatening to come off the hinges.

"Are we going or what?" wow, yeah, Jacob was pissed.

"What the hell happened to you?"

If looks could kill I would have died a thousand deaths right there and then. I decided maybe it wasn't such a good idea to pick on him…then again, what better time?

"So I heard Bella's back with the mind reader. That must have pissed you off. Tell me something Jacob, how's it feel to know that you just weren't good enough for her?"

In less time that it took for me to blink Jacob fazed and threw himself on top of me.

"Hey bro, I know you want a hug but dang, relax, you could have just asked." I said trying to hold back my laughter and failing miserably. He snapped his jaw at me. "Ok, come here my little puppy; let Uncle Paul give you a hug." I teased him. He bit down on my arm and that was the end of the humor. I wasn't going to miss out on a good fight so I fazed myself. Words were no longer necessary and I almost regretted transforming. All of Jake's heartache flooded over to me. I could see Bella leaving with the tiny vampire through his eyes and I felt what could only be described as the internal bleeding that Jake felt.

_Sheesh Jacob, is it that serious?_

He raked his claws across the back of my head. I smelled blood and that was it for me. We rolled around the little living room of Embry's house.

"Ok, if you two break _anything_ I will be forced to kill you both. Let's go, I'm sick of smelling the sickly sweet vamp smell on the Rez – it's irritating."

Embry transformed and nudged himself between the two of us.

_Stop it you two! We need to be on alert. It's a wonder why we haven't found the red head already. We have to be attentive and I can't be with you two going at each other throats every second you get. Can we save it for tomorrow?_

I reluctantly agreed and we were on our way. We walked around the woods for hours on end. Occasionally we'd get a whiff of her here and there but for the most part, nothing...

After a while of a _whole lot_ of nothing we all drifted off into our own thoughts and of course It wasn't long before my thoughts of meeting the next Sports Illustrated cover model turned into desperately sad thoughts of Bella.

_I thought you were mad at her Jake._

_I am. It doesn't mean that I stopped loving her. The last I heard she was back with the bloodsucker. I guess I just have to move on._

_You're doing such a fabulous job there kiddo._

_Shut your pie hole Paul – you've never been broken hearted._

_You're a sad little puppy Jacob._

_Screw you Paul._

The rest of the night continued on like this until Embry stopped us.

_Do you guys smell that?_

_Ugh. Yeah that's definitely her. Jake, she's moving closer to your house…why would she do that?_

_Oh no!_ He barred his fangs and growled fiercely.

_Bella's there!_

We all sprinted toward his house anxiety filling us all thanks to him. Honestly though, I didn't like her much but the last thing I wanted was for her to get hurt. I would never admit this to anyone but if Jacob loved her then she was part of the family and I would die protecting her if that's what it came down to.

_Thank you Paul, that means a lot._

Damn these shared thoughts! – We slowed as we rounded the part of the forest that led out to Jacob's house. It was pitch black and hard to make out anything, even with the wolfy night vision. One thing was for sure, she was close. The place reeked of her.

_Paul you head out to the shed. Jacob you follow me out to the other side. We need to close in on her. We cannot allow a pocket for her to escape again. _Directed Embry

I ran toward the shed but didn't make it. There was a flash of red and when I looked down at the fire that seared across my chest I saw even more red…blood – a lot of it. The pain was so great I couldn't stay on my feet. I fell to the ground – hard.

_PAUL! _ Shouted Jacob and Embry through our connection.

I looked around me in fear that she might come back. I was caught off guard. How could I not see her coming? I dragged myself into the shed panting. The pain was getting sharper. It wasn't healing as quickly as it normally would.

_Stay in there Paul. Embry and I will look for her._

I didn't even have the energy to respond. It was quickly getting harder to breathe.

"Who's there?" it was Bella. Oh crap! I had to get to her before Victoria did. I tried calling out to her but I couldn't. The air was quickly thinning out of my lungs.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" she whispered. She was getting closer. It took everything I had just to let out a little whimper.

She saw me.

"Oh my God, Paul!" she practically screamed.

Ugh, I just wanted to shut her up. She was going to get us both killed! She got back up and it looked like she was about to leave. I couldn't let her out there. Not now, the red head was going to kill her. I gathered as much strength as I could to change back to my human form only it took too much energy out of me and I just lay there helpless. This was not me. I was strong, I was fierce. I wasn't a coward who hid in the middle of a fight cause he had an injury. Granted, I never had an injury that got worse rather than heal but it was all the same to me.

"Um…yeah, let me grab a tarp." She said uncomfortably. Why in the world would she need a tarp? And then I felt it over my waist. Oh, yeah, I was naked. If I didn't die here Jake would certainly kill me.

_I'm only going to kill you if you don't get her out of there NOW. She's coming straight for you._

I panicked. Not for myself but for Bella. Poor Bella that didn't know what was about to happen. I grabbed her wrist trying to get her to focus.

"Just…leave…get…out of…here…NOW." I forced out, each word followed by a gasp.

"Shut the hell up Paul, seriously can't you put your pride aside for even a second? You're bleeding to death here."

_Jake, I'm going to strangle her if we don't get out of this alive!_

_Paul, she's coming! Watch out!_

"Move." I growled at Bella.

"Wha- ?" she began to protest but I had forced every cell in my body to cooperate with my brain. I tossed her to the side and positioned myself on top of her. I realized that I was still a man and quickly fazed back into a wolf.

I smelled the bloodsucker in full force. She was so close, I knew it but she was nowhere in sight. I growled in her general direction and saw Jacob and Embry follow suit. And then I saw her standing there as if she ruled the Rez. She grinned at me, summoning me with her pointer finger. I growled louder and then she attacked me. I leapt up to meet her pushing off of Bella in the process. Jake and Embry didn't hesitate to join the fight.

I was hit again in the same spot by the evil bloodsucker and fell back. Just then Bella let out a blood curdling cry.

"Jake no!" she tried to go over to Jacob. Had the girl lost her mind?

I got up and flung myself at her. This girl was going to be the death of me. I turned around to make sure we weren't about to get attacked but all I saw was Jacob and Embry still in wolf mode - confused. They fazed back to humans.

"Where did she go?" yelled Jake

"I don't know…she…just…disappeared." Said Embry defeatedly.

I pulled myself off of Bella and Jacob came running.

"Bella!" he grabbed her in his arms and examined her head to toe.

"Paul get me the first aid kit, she's bleeding." said Jacob nervously.

I picked up the little white plastic box off of the floor and handed it to him. His hands were shaking and his eyes were glazing over with tears. I put my hand on his shoulder.

"It's ok it's just a scratch…and it was me not Victoria."

"I know. I…just…it could have been worse." He held her closer to him and buried his face in her hair.

"Embry, can you wake up my dad. We need to get a doctor out here to make sure Bella is ok…and Paul."

Embry nodded his head and ran inside the house flipping on all the lights in the process. Jacob picked up Bella silently and followed Embry. I just stood there in shock.

I leaned back against the wall of the shed unable to sustain my weight any longer. I slid down the side of the wall. I felt humiliated, but at least Bella was safe. Jake was right, it could have been worse and the thought of something happening to Bella scared the crap out of me.

I put my head in my hands and tried to calm my breathing, but as soon as I closed my eyes my thoughts were filled with Bella – visions of her being hurt by the trampy vampire blurred their way across my mind.

"No!" I yelled.

"No, what?" said Embry.

I looked up and he was crouched next to me. He handed me a pair of black sweats.

"Here, put these on. The doctor should be here any minute." There was a moment of silence between us but it was broken by Embry.

"I felt what you felt, Paul, when Victoria was coming at you and Bella. Just make sure you try not to think about it when the pack is together. I don't know if Jake won't kill you."

"I'm fine," I snapped at him. "If Jake would only keep his stupid thoughts to himself I wouldn't be feeling this way. I DON'T like her. I was just doing my job."

"Sure. Well, come on. Let's get you inside."

He put my arm around his neck and lifted me off of the floor. We walked into the house and Jacob was on the couch cradling Bella in his arms and pushing her wet hair out of her face.

My heart sunk. He had taken off her wet jacket, her shirt and her jeans and had replaced it with one of his shirts that fit her like a PJ. She had a blanket over her too and she looked so frail. He looked up at me when he saw me starring.

"Thank you Paul." He choked out; clearly he was fighting back tears.

"Yeah, man. No problem." I said, my eyes never leaving Bella's face.

Embry pushed me into a chair opposite the couch with a little too much force making my wound burn harder in my chest. I glared up at him and he met mine with one of his own. Luckily there was a knock at the door and the Doctor came in…it was the Cullen. Jacob growled and I stood up ready to kill him. I regretted it – the pain in my chest had me doubled over. The Cullen came over to me and I pushed him away pointing to Bella.

"Not me! Her first!"

"No," Jacob said. "She's fine, you're not."

"I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen. Call me Carlisle." he put is freezing cold hands on my shoulders and sat me back down. Within minutes I was patched up. Billy rolled into the living room then.

"Carlisle, thank you for coming. Our Doctor is out of town and we couldn't risk going to the hospital like this."

"I understand." was all Dr. Cullen said before he hurried over to Bella. He put some ointment on her chest and on her knees…how she hurt her knees I can't even begin to imagine.

The vampire was gone within thirty minutes once he declared all of us fit and Billy went back to bed. Apparently nothing fazed him anymore.

"I need to go tell Sam what happened." whispered Jacob once we were all alone again.

I stood up and walked over to him.

"I'll take her to your room. You go tell Sam. Embry you get the others together. I'll stay here with Bella until you get back."

Jacob nodded silently and let me take her. I lifted her up in my arms as I watched Jake hesitantly hand her over to me. He stood up and caressed her face and then kissed her forehead before he looked up at me.

"Keep her safe." was all he said as he and Embry raced out of the little house.

I walked over to Jacob's small room. Funny, it looked almost identical to mine. I laid Bella down on the bed and positioned myself at her side. I looked down at her and seeing her so helpless like she did now, it was easy to see the girl that Jacob fell in love with – hell, the girl that the bloodsucker Edward fell in love with. Poor Bella, she had all kinds of mystical creatures fawning over her. I imaged fairies, elves and witches getting in line to date her and I laughed silently to myself. She rolled over just then and put her arm over my chest. I froze. I felt like I was paralyzed. I took in a deep breath in and slowly let it back out in an attempt to easy my rapidly increasing beating heart. She shifted her weight completely so that she was laying on my right side and her head was on my shoulder. She mumbled something that sounded like "…cold…"

I pulled the covers over her and my eyes were like magnets to her face. My hand seemed to have a mind of it's own as well as it traced the lines of her face until it finally rested on top of the hand she laid on my chest.

"I will do everything I can to keep you safe." I whispered to her. "I promise."

I got up, not trusting myself to stay in the room with her any longer. I walked over to the door and closed it as silently as I could. I leaned up against it. I was in trouble. I was falling for the girl that my best friend was in love with who in turn was dating a vampire. I had a BIG problem.


	5. Forgiveness

Jacob's POV

Leaving Bella like that was probably the hardest thing I had to do. I couldn't thank Paul enough for protecting her when I couldn't, but I had to do what I had to do and finding Sam was the top priority at the moment.

I ran as fast as I could. It was a good thing I slept the entire day or I would for sure be dead tired right now. The sun was making its way back to the horizon as the darkness slowly turned gray. When I finally arrived at Emily's I knocked on the door as hard as I could.

"Sam, wake up! Open the door!"

_Bang, bang, bang _I continued until the door flew open and Sam was hurrying out of the house.

"You woke Em up you moron. This better be good." Sam said irritably.

"Victoria came to the Rez. She attacked Paul – no, Paul will be okay." I said at the worried expression on Sam's face.

"He was protecting Bella. They're both at my place right now."

"I take it you didn't catch her."

I looked down at my feet. We should have been able to take her down. It was three against one. It's just that one second she was there and the next she was gone. I was staring right at her.

"No." I said more to myself than to Sam. "But we need to get together. We need to discuss tactics. I think I know why we haven't been able to kill her yet."

Without hesitating Sam fazed into a wolf and I followed his lead. We bounded into the forest and heard that Embry had found Jared and Quil. Confused thoughts flood through me from Quil and Jared.

_Quiet, let Jacob speak._ Demanded Sam.

I didn't really have to _speak_ but I replayed what happened earlier by my house and when I was done Embry did the same from his point of view. Everyone gasped at the same time when they saw Victoria disappear into thin air.

_This is why she has been eluding us. Once Embry and I started getting the upper hand she vanished. She must have the power of invisibility. _

_When Paul went to go hide in the shed she was no where to be seen and then she appeared for just enough time to rake her claw like nails into him and then disappeared just as quickly. He never saw her coming._

_So how do we kill her? _asked Jared.

_I don't know. I guess we're just going to have to be faster. _

There was silence for a while. No one knew what to say.

_Jared, Quil, you two will be with me tonight. Embry and Jacob, go back home and rest. Try to see if you guys can come up with a way to kill Victoria. This needs to stop, and it needs to happen now._

We all agreed and headed to our destinations. Embry went to his house and said that he would meet me up later. I ran back home as fast as I could. I had to see if Bella was ok.

I was so mad at myself. She came to see me and I blew her off. If something had happened to her tonight that would have been the last conversation I had with her. I needed to apologize to her. No matter what happened or who she chose to be with I was still her friend and it was about time I started acting like one.

I rounded the corner to my house. The curtains were open and I could see Paul inside talking to someone. He looked…scared. I got closer smelling the area to see if there was a new trail of Victoria's sent. There wasn't. I looked back up and could see that the person he was speaking to was Bella. She moved closer to him and she fought with him. She tried to grab his arms and he attempted to shake her off – not hard but like she was trying to get at something and he wouldn't let her. She finally managed to get passed his protests and lifted up his shirt. What the heck was going on in there? It's was like watching a bad car accident. You know you should keep moving but you were too focused on the crash.

Paul stood there frozen as Bella moved her hand along the bandaged wound across his chest. She said something I couldn't hear and he moved closer to her. It was just an inch but it was definitely too close. She looked up at him and said something else and then she flung her arms around him. He stood there non responsive for a second before wrapping his arms around her. That was enough! What the heck was Paul doing?

I ran through the door and roared. It sounded almost like a lion. Bella Jumped back startled by the noise, paused and then ran toward me.

"Oh Jake. Oh my God I thought she was going to get you. Are you okay?" She threw her arms around my neck and buried her face in my fur. My eyes never left Paul's. He smiled halfheartedly and I growled. Bella took a step back.

"Jacob, what's wrong?" I pushed my nose into her stomach gently pushing her to the side and then bounded on Paul. He fazed before I got to him and he attacked back.

It was all too much – his thoughts.

_She's mine! I can't believe you Paul._ I snapped at his neck. I was going to kill him. He snapped back. I could hear Bella in the background screaming.

_No, Jake she's Edwards. And anyway I don't even like her like that._

_Don't lie to me! I can feel what you feel you pig! You were going to kiss her if I hadn't come in._ he bit into my arm and I clawed his face – I missed. He rolled up on top of me.

_She loves you, you bastard. You're the only one who can't see it. Maybe if you would stop wallowing around all the time the rest of us wouldn't feel what you feel. Did you ever think what it feels like for us? No, of course not cause you're a selfish little kid who doesn't realize what he has until it's gone. You want Bella, then do something about it!_

He fazed back and walked out the door. Bella was at my side within seconds.

"Jake? Hey, are you okay?" she put her hands on the side of my face and I fazed back.

"Close your eyes Bella unless you want a show." She obeyed and I walked into my room pulling on a pair of ripped sweats…I was going to have to tell Dad to get me more since I kept ruining them all. I grabbed one that had shrunk in the wash and walked back to the living room.

"It's ok silly, you can open your eyes now." I tossed the sweats at her.

"Put these on. That shirt may cover everything but it doesn't leave much to the imagination."

She blushed and her eyes squinted the way I always loved.

"Thank you." she whispered.

I turned around to give her a bit of privacy.

"Ok, you can turn back around." She said and I did. The sight of her wearing my clothes gave me and unfamiliar yet very pleasant feeling. I could defiantly get used to seeing her like _that_. "And you can tell me what all _that_ was about." She motioned to the part of the living room where Paul and I fought.

"It was…nothing." I said trying to shake images of Bella lying on my bed.

"I don't know what _that_ was but it was definitely not _nothing_."

"What were you doing here Bella?" I said in an attempt to change the subject. Her face blanched. She took another step backward and sat on the couch. She put her head in her hands and sighed.

"Do you know what I was going to let Edward do to me today…well, yesterday?"

A thousand terrible things flew through my mind. I was going to have to kill him. I just knew it. I sat down next to her and took her hands from her face and put them on my lap.

"What did he do to you Bella?" I said between clenched teeth trying to push down my anger.

"N-nothing. That's just it…I changed my mind and I ran…I didn't stop I just kept running and running and I ended up here. I came here to apologize to yo-"

"What was he going to do to you Bells?" I cut her off.

She looked at me with so much terror in her eyes. "I almost let him…change me."

"WHAT?!" I yelled getting to my feet. "Are you CRAZY Bella?"

"No!" she yelled back at me. "I'm not _crazy_ – I was in love! But I didn't do it! I came to you instead for help! And you blew me off!"

I was fuming. It took every ounce of self restraint not to go over the treaty line to the Cullen's and kill that good for nothing leech! I looked over at her and she was shaking. I did it again. I keep hurting her. I went back to her and kneeled in front of her. I raised her chin so that I could look her in the eyes.

"I'm sorry Bells. I am _so_ sorry." Tears welled up in her eyes. When she tried to blink them away they streamed down her cheeks. My heart ached for her.

"I'm sorry too Jake." She whispered. "I've been a terrible friend. I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted any of this. I was just so…stupidly in love…but it's different now. Before _it_ happened…all I could think about was you." More tears ran down her cheek so I cupped her face and wiped them away with my thumbs before I kissed her forehead. I rested mine against hers.

"We're so messed up." I said bitterly. She laughed and moved just far enough that she could look me in the eyes and close enough for me to feel her breath on my face.

"Will you forgive me Jake?" she asked, her lips almost touching mine. My heart slammed against my chest. I nodded my head not trusting my voice enough to speak.

"Then why haven't you kissed me yet?" – That's all I needed to hear. I put my hands back on her face and let my fingers run through her hair. I pulled her close to me and leaned in to kiss her.

_**BANG! **_

The door was knocked off of its hinges and there stood Edward with murder in his eyes.


	6. Truths

Bella's POV

I woke up to the shining sunlight beaming through the gap in the windows, windows that I was not familiar with. I shot up, threw the covers off of me and ran to the door. I sighed in relief when I realized that I was at Jake's house. I gasped when I realized what I was wearing. I was practically naked!

I went down the small hallway toward the living room and Paul was lying on the couch sleeping with his mouth open. I went into the small kitchen to see if Jacob was there – nothing. It appeared to be just me and Paul. I went back into the living room and he was sitting up, his legs spread open and both arms resting on the back of the couch.

"Morning." He said with a grin. "You look…better now. You had me worried there for a sec."

I was confused at what he was saying until everything that happened last night came back to me.

"Victoria!" I gasped covering my mouth with my hands.

"Ding, ding, ding we have a winner."

"You…you were hurt." I took a step toward him and he got up off the couch.

"I'm fine." He replied as if the big gash in his chest was no big deal.

"Is Jake…"

"He's fine, Embry's fine. I'm recovering. He should be back soon."

"Where did he go?"

"To Sam's to let him know what happened. They'll be meeting up with the rest of the pack to keep them informed."

"Why aren't you with them?" I asked not understanding why they would all have a meeting of sorts without him.

"Duh, Bella! I'm your bodyguard of course." The mischievous grin was back on his face.

"Are you sure you're ok? Let me see." I stepped forward and he stepped back.

"I said I'm fine." All trace of humor was gone from his voice now.

I took yet another step toward him and reached out to him but he kept pushing me back.

"Bella, you're so hard headed. I said I'm fine."

"And I said I wanted to see, so let me see." He finally stopped fighting me after I smacked his hands away and I lifted his shirt up. The wound was covered up with a supersized white gauze and tape. I reached out and touched the length of it.

"I'm so sorry Paul. I couldn't help you." He moved slightly closer to me. He was so tall that with him being that close I had to look way up to see him.

"You saved my life last night didn't you?" he just starred back at me and I flung my arms around him.

"Thank you so much Paul! That was so brave of you." He wrapped his arms around me and whispered.

"Well, I couldn't just let you die. Jacob would have killed me." I laughed but it was cut short by the slamming of the door and a loud roaring noise. I jumped back scared out of my mind but when I turned to face whatever just barged in I saw a huge russet colored wolf.

"Oh, Jake! Oh my God I thought she was going to get you. Are you okay?" I threw my arms around him and breathed him in. I didn't know how anxious I was to see him ok until now. I felt a rumble in his chest.

"Jacob, what's wrong?" I asked confused by the way he was acting and then he pushed me to the side with his nose. Without warning he jumped at Paul, only Paul was ready for him. It's like Jacob had lost his mind, he kept snapping at Paul. What had gotten into him?

"Jacob! Paul! Stop it right now. STOP, STOP, STOP!!!" I yelled to no avail.

Paul managed to get on top of Jacob and all I heard was growling and a couple barks. He must have been telling him something through their little wolf ESP thing they had. Within seconds it was over and Paul fazed back. I turned my head to avoid another peep show and I felt him rush passed me out the door. I whirled around and ran to Jake.

"Jake? Hey, are you okay?" I put my hands on the side of his face and within an instant wolf turned to man and I was holding his beautiful face with my hands. I never wanted to kiss him so bad – ever.

"Close your eyes Bella unless you want a show." He said with a hint of humor. I shut my eyes and felt him leave the living room. I opened one up slightly to make sure he was gone and waited for him on the couch – my eyes still shut.

After a minute or so I heard "It's ok silly, you can open your eyes now." And he tossed a pair of small, for him, sweats.

"Put these on. That shirt may cover everything but it doesn't leave much to the imagination."

Oh my God he did not just say that. I know my cheeks were turning bright red.

"Thank you." I whispered suddenly becoming very shy.

He turned around and waited until I managed to get in his sweats. I instantly felt much better.

"Ok, you can turn back around." When he saw me he had the strangest look on his face…like he was going to eat me alive – in a good way.

"And you can tell me what all _that_ was about." I pointed to where the weird dog fight had just taken place.

"It was…nothing." he said in a bit of a daze.

"I don't know what _that_ was but it was definitely not _nothing_."

"What were you doing here Bella?" ok, so that's not the response I was hoping to get. I felt the butterflies in my stomach all move at the same time. I thought I might throw up. I needed to sit down or I would pass out.

I reached the couch and plopped down on it covering my face with my hands. I was too nervous to even look at him. I took a deep breath in before telling him.

"Do you know what I was going to let Edward do to me today…well, yesterday?"

He sat down next to me and pried my hands away from my face. The warmth of his hands on mine was a dramatic contrast to Edwards's cold ones. I didn't want to tell Jacob everything that happened but I knew I had to.

"What did he do to you Bella?" he said clearly about to explode. He started shaking. I was afraid he might lose control and faze again.

"N-nothing. That's just it…I changed my mind and I ran…I didn't stop I just kept running and running and I ended up here. I came here to apologize to yo-"

"What was he going to do to you Bells?" I looked up at him terrified. He was going to kill me I just knew it.

"I almost let him…change me."

"WHAT?!" He yelled getting to his feet. "Are you CRAZY Bella?"

"No!" I yelled back at him. "I'm not _crazy_ – I was in love! But I didn't do it! I came to you instead for help! And you blew me off!"

He was silent for a while but eventually kneeled down in front of me lifting my chin to meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry Bells. I am _so_ sorry." His apology was so unexpected that I felt traitorous tears start to sting my eyes. I tried to blink them back but that only made it worse. They spilled over without my consent.

"I'm sorry too Jake. I've been a terrible friend. I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted any of this. I was just so…stupidly in love…but it's different now. Before _it_ happened…all I could think about was you."

He cupped my face and wiped away my tears. I was then that I made my decision. I chose Jake. I wanted Jake. I wanted him more than I ever wanted Edward. Sure I loved Edward, but when he left he broke a link in the chains that bonded us together. Jacob healed the hole in my heart and I would do anything it took to show him how sorry I was. I wanted to know what I felt for him.

He kissed my forehead and rested his on mine. "We're so messed up." He joked. I laughed and pulled away from him to meet his eyes. I wanted to kiss him but was afraid that he would reject me. After all I did ditch him…twice.

"Will you forgive me Jake?" I asked, my lips almost touching his. He nodded his head and gave me a small smile. I saw it then, my old Jake.

"Then why haven't you kissed me yet?" in less time than it took to blink he had his hands back on my face and in my hair. He leaned in painfully slow but just before his lips met mine the door fell down beside us revealing a very pissed off Edward.

"Oh come ON!" said Jake clearly irritated by the interruptions. "How many fights do I have to get to in one day to have protect Bella from all these men. Damn it!"

"Bella." Said Edward calmly which made him seem even scarier. "Step away from the werewolf."

"No." I said indignantly. Jacob started shaking. I turned to him and placed my hands on his shoulder.

"Don't do it Jacob. Please, calm down." He ignored me.

"What – the – hell – are - you – doing – here?"

"Carlisle told me Bella was hurt. I don't give a damn about any treaty, if she's in danger I'm coming."

"Really?" said Jake on the verge of hysterics. "He was here three hours ago. What took you so long to join the party?"

"Jake stop. Edward, get the hell out. NOW!"

"Bella." Edward persisted.

"Edward, Jacob is trying really hard not to faze and kill you right now. I'm just a human so I won't be able to stop him so I suggest you get the hell out NOW!"

"I'm not leaving without you."

"The hell you're not!" snapped Jake.

"What's all the commotion about kids? Can't a man sleep in his own house without being woken up so darn early in the morning?"

Billy chose that moment to wheel his way into the living room.

"Edward, you're paying for that door. Jacob, take a chill pill. Good morning Bella."

My mouth dropped to the floor and looking over at the other two goof balls my expression mirrored theirs.

"Mr. Black, I apologize. I didn't mean to-"

"I believe Miss Swan asked you to leave. Now I suggest you do it soon as her father is on his way to pick her up. Luckily I had mind enough to call Charlie when she came over last night and told him that she would be having a sleep over with Jake and Leah. So, having said that, should Bella decide to actually tell Charlie the truth about what happened yesterday at your place I don't think it would matter to him if you were an immortal super strong vampire or not – he _will_ kill you…and seeing as he's a cop, he'd leave no evidence behind."

Go Billy! Jacob beamed at his father. Edward, of course, scowled and turned to face Jacob.

"We're not done here."

"Finally, we agree on something."

Edward took a step toward me and Jacob didn't hesitate to block his way.

"Go. Now."

I felt a breeze blow my hair back and when I looked up Edward was gone.

Crap. I guess I had a lot to fix.


	7. So Called Problems

Bella's POV

If I thought it was bad when Victoria showed up and I thought I was about to die, I had another thing coming – Charlie. You know the saying 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Yeah, try Hell hath no fury like a pissed off father (who also happens to be a cop) of a teenager who was worried sick when his daughter didn't call when she said she would when she's supposed to be grounded.

Needless to say I got an ear full. My only saving grace was that I was with Jacob and not Edward. Charlie, for obvious reasons didn't like the fact that I had decided to 'end my relationship' with Jake and so hearing from Billy that I was hanging out with the kids from the Rez totally softened the blow.

"So are you and Edward through?" Charlie asked when I had finished making him Steak and potatoes (I was totally sucking up to him).

"I don't know." I said between mouthfuls. "I think that chapter in my life has ended, you know? I just haven't gotten around to telling him."

"So…you and Jacob." He continued.

"Are still just friends, dad. Maybe more…someday. What's with all the interest in my love life all of the sudden?"

"Bells, hun, Edward is a bastard. You deserve better – a lot better."

"Ok dad, I get it, you hate Edward. Can we not talk about this anymore? It's kind of…uncomfortable."

"Sure. Just…give Jacob a chance. You might find that he's exactly what you're looking for."

"Ok, Dad! Stop with the Dr. Phil impersonations!" I grabbed my plate and his and threw them in the sink. I would deal with them later. I made my way up the stairs to my room and decided now was a great time for a shower.

Luckily dad didn't ask any questions about Jakes shirt and sweats that I was wearing. I tossed them on the bed and headed toward the shower. After a much needed and relaxing shower I made my way back to my room. I wasn't sure what I was going to do today. What does one do after they've experienced two near death experiences in one day?

My decision was made up for me when I walked into my room and Edward was there lying on my bed.

"Hey Babe." He said without looking up from the book in his hand.

"Uh…what are you doing here?" clearly I wasn't going to get a chance to sleep.

"Oh, you know, just checking up on my girlfriend who nearly got herself killed last night. So, _sweetie_, how are you _feeling_?"

"Why are you acting like that?"

"Why did I interrupt your kiss with Jacob?"

"It was an _almost_ kiss thanks to you! And really, don't you think that me freaking out on you yesterday was a sign that said, hey, maybe I don't really want to be with you anymore."

"Is that what I was supposed to get out of it? Cause I thought, gee, maybe she finally got some sense knocked into her. If you recall, I was the one who was against it from the start!"

"Listen, Edward" I began. I was seriously drained by this point. "All drama aside, I thought that I could forgive you. I wanted to forgive you…but I can't. I thought I would never get over you, but I guess I just needed you to come back to realize that I already was."

"He got up so quickly I barely saw the flash of color that was his blue shirt when he stood in front of me."

"Bella, you love me. You're just scared. I said I was sorry, I didn't expect you to believe me but if I have to spend the rest of my existence proving it to you I would."

"What if I don't want that?"

"You want that." It was a statement. And before I knew what was happening he was kissing me – greedily. My first reaction was to kiss him back and I breathed in all of him. It was like smelling a perfume that brought back old memories. But that's just what they are, memories of another time – the past. The fact that he had never kissed me like this before, without holding back -it made me dizzy. When I realized what was happening I tried pulling back only he brought me closer.

"Stop it." I said trying to force the words out, it wasn't so easy with his lips pressed hard against mine and pushing away from him was like trying to move a brick wall.

"I said STOP." And he stopped, but didn't let go. "Go. Please." I said unable to meet his eyes. He rested his head on top of mine.

"I'm not going to let you go that easy, Bella." He kissed my hair and then he was gone, the curtains on my window blowing in his wake.

I stood there staring at the window stupefied when I heard a knock on my door. I whirled to face it and then looked down at myself. I was still in my bathrobe.

"Um...give me just a sec." I raced to my closet pulling on my Night Before Christmas fleece PJ's and a Forks High School T-shirt. I rushed to open the door raking my hand through my wet hair.

"What's up Dad?" – Only it wasn't Charlie, it was Paul. This was seriously going to turn out to be a crazy day.

"Ok, I give up." I left the door open and walked over to my bed. I got in and pulled the covers over my head. I wasn't going to participate in todays crazy. I would just let it all happen around me – not to or at me.

"OhhhKayyy. It's nice to see you too, Bella." I grunted at him. I wasn't interested in conversations at the moment. I wanted sleep… like _now_. I heard the door close and for a second I thought he left only I felt his weight at the edge of my bed. I guess he wasn't going to leave. Oh well, he could watch me sleep then.

"I came to say I'm sorry that I attacked your friend." I doubt that was what he really came over for. Paul didn't apologize. That just wasn't him. I didn't respond.

"Bella, can you please pull the covers away from your face?" when I didn't respond he pulled them off of me entirely. He stood there at the side of my bed looking down at me.

"Hey! Can't you see that I'm trying to sleep here?"

"If I don't get to sleep then neither do you. Now, can we talk?" I sat up against my headboard and grabbed a pillow and hugged it. He sat on the bed across from me.

"Ok, what would _Paul_ want to talk to me about?"

"Edward." Huh? That was unexpected. "Ugh Wrong answer." I threw the pillow at him and he caught it easily before it hit his face and threw it on the floor.

"What was he doing here? I thought you two…I thought it was over."

"Why would you think that? I haven't discussed anything with you." He had an embarrassed look on his face. Was today a full moon or something? Why was everyone acting so strange?

"I was listening to you and Jake. I never left after the fight. And then the whole thing with Edward at Jake's. Anyway, what was he doing here?"

My mouth dropped open. "You were listening to me and Jake! Why? What's the matter with you?" I threw myself at him. I was going to kill him. He caught me as easily as he did the pillow but I was able to knock him backwards just the same. I got on top of him and tried hitting him but I could never get one in. He grabbed my wrists and pulled me down on top of him so our bodies were touching. My hair fell down my face. He looked up at me intensely and let go of one of my wrists pushing my hair behind my ear. I felt my heartbeat begin to race. It was pumping so hard it was getting hard to breathe. This couldn't be happening. No, not Paul.

"I can make you happy Bella" he breathed.

No, no, no this is _so_ not happening. _Then why aren't you moving away?_ I thought to myself. _You like this. You like the way it feels to be near him. _No, I don't – this is wrong. I love Jake.

"Paul, don't." I whispered.

"You don't mean that." He said before he moved his hands to my face, pulling me down just millimeters away from his lips.

"You know this feels right. If you don't say no and I'll leave right now."

I couldn't find my voice.

"That's what I thought." And he closed the gap between us kissing me slowly and deeply. I felt my blood turn to fire as I kissed him back. Everything and nothing swam though my mind. Time seemed to speed up and stop all at once and then he pushed my face back gently.

"What's happening?" I asked confused and just a little dizzy from the kiss.

"That's why I came over Bella. There's something I needed to tell you." He continued to whisper.

"What? That you like me?" he chuckled softly and pushed the hair that escaped back behind my ear.

"No, although that's a given now."

He pushed me up to sit me up on the bed. He got up and started pacing in front of me. I put my hands on my cheeks and they were hot. I raked my fingers through my hair and looked up at him.

"Please stop pacing and say what you need to say." I urged him. He stopped and faced me and had an odd look on his face. He kneeled down in front of me and I had an odd sense of déjà vu from when Jake had done the exact same thing this morning.

"Bella," he said anxiously. "I've imprinted on you."


	8. Forks In The Road

Paul's POV

"SHUT – UP!" She yelled, standing up. She walked up to me and smacked me in the face. I flexed my jaw. The girl had more strength than I gave her credit for.

"I can't believe you Paul! Why would you do that! Ugh!" she bent down and picked up her pillow and blanket and got back in her bed pulling the covers over her again.

"Why would _I_ do this? You think I _wanted_ this? Bella, _hello_, I don't have any control over any of this. This is not my fault." She pulled the covers down and stuck her tongue out at me before pulling it back over her face. I couldn't help but laugh. I sat down on the bed next to her. I pulled the covers down…again. She shut her eyes tight. It was quite comical.

"Come on Bella, talk to me. Please?"

"I don't want to. This is not happening. This is all just a really bad dream. I need to go to bed and wake back up and this will all be just a silly dream…ok, nightmare."

I put my hand on her face and she opened her eyes. She had the most beautiful brown eyes I had ever laid eyes on. I could honestly sit here and stare at her all day. How I never noticed her before I couldn't even imagine.

"I love Jacob, you know that right." That hurt worse than when she smacked me.

"I know…I know." I stood up and headed out the door. I couldn't do this. I couldn't watch her loving someone else.

"Wait! Paul, don't go." I turned around and she was standing right behind me. She slid her arms around my waist and rested her head on my chest. I hugged her back. I never wanted to let her go. _Oh God, please don't take her away from me. I don't know if I'll survive it._

"How are you feeling?" she kissed my chest and then rested her head back on it.

"You mean is my wound healed? Yes, it's all better now." I wonder if she could hear my heart racing.

"Do you love me Paul?" Whoever said that there is no such thing as a stupid question obviously never had one asked by Bella.

"You're killing me Bella." She was quiet for a long time which was fine by me. The more time I got to spend with her the better. It was almost like I couldn't get close enough to her. Hugging her, kissing her, it would never be enough.

"I don't know what's going on, Paul. I don't know what I'm supposed to say. Imprinting is like marriage isn't it? It's that serious. I just…well, you've always been a jerk." She laughed to herself. She was right. I've never gone out of my way to be nice to her. I knew that this would all be too much for her. With everything that was going on was it really fair for me to unload all of this on her today of all days after all of the Jacob, Edward drama?

I pulled her away and took her hand and led her back to her bed. I picked her up and laid her on the bed. She didn't say a word. I tucked her in and kissed her forehead.

"Sleep. We can talk later." I turned around but she had reached out and grabbed my hand. I turned back to her.

"Can you just stay with me for a while?" if only she knew that she could ask me to jump off of a bridge and I would do it gladly. I nodded and sat down next to her.

"Closer." Ok, so maybe this is a good sign.

"Won't Charlie get mad that I'm here?" She laughed.

"No, you're not a Cullen so you'll be just fine." That was enough for me. I slid down to lay beside her and she curled up next to me. Really bad thoughts were swarming through my mind and I didn't dare touch her. I didn't trust myself with her.

"Thanks again Paul." She said already halfway asleep.

"For what?" I whispered not wanting to bring her out of her sleepiness.

"For saving my life…for loving me." I kissed her forehead and she grabbed my hand and put my arm around her.

"Might as well keep me warm…" and then she was asleep. I stayed with her for an hour, my heart aching the entire time. Holding her there watching her steady breathing - I felt several conflicting things at once. The first of course that I was crazy in love with her. I thought of Jake and how I would feel if the tables were turned. I felt like a crazy person for wanting to go over to Edward's and rip him to shreds. I felt stabs of anxiety at the thought of anything bad ever happening to her, at the thought that she would never love me back. Bella's happiness was my top priority. If she was happy with Jacob, did I really want to break that up?

I left a note with my phone number on it on her bedside table. I would let her come to me if that's what she wanted. I wouldn't force myself on her. She didn't ask for this.

What I needed to do now is let Jake know. He deserved to know.

I got on my motorcycle and rode straight to Jacob's place. I let myself in. Billy said that he was in his room. I remembered just this morning seeing Bella in his shirt and how irrationally jealous I felt that it wasn't my shirt she was wearing. Then, again jealousy was the epitome of irrationality. I opened Jacob's bedroom door and he was asleep.

"Wake up." I said loud enough for him to wake up but not exactly a yell. He mumbled something about 'five more minutes' so I pushed him off the bed.

"I said get up…now."

"Damn it Paul. What?"

"We need to talk, now."

"I don't have anything to say to you."

"Listen, we need to get this out of the way cause you're going to see it the next time we phase. Better you know now." He looked at me now clearly concerned.

"What did you to do to Bella?" he pushed me up against the wall. I wasn't going to fight him anymore. Let him do whatever it is he's going to do.

"It's more like what she's done to me."

"Excuse me? Don't blame Bella cause you can't keep your hormones to yourself!"

"Jacob, are you even listening to yourself? You are not making this any easier, you should sit down."

"I'm fine just the way I am. Spill it Paul." I prepared myself for the blow.

"Jake, I…listen, never mind. I should go." I turned to walk away but he grabbed the back of my shirt collar and turned me around, pushed me against the door with his hand on my throat. Yeah, this was unpleasant. It wasn't going to get any better from here.

"What the hell did you do Paul?" he said through clenched teeth.

"I…can't…Breathe." He tightened his hold on my neck. Ok, here goes nothing.

"I…im...print…ed…on…Bells." his eyes got wide and he let go taking a step back. He stared at me for a second longer before he took another step back turning around with his hands folded behind his head. He walked over to his window dropping his hands and stared out at it for several minutes. I didn't know what to say. There _was_ nothing for me to say.

"Jake…" he turned around and his eyes were red and his face was wet. "Don't…Paul."

"I didn't - "

"I said don't." He wasn't even yelling. He was just standing there. He looked defeated and plopped himself on the edge of his bed his head in his hands. I didn't like this. I would have preferred him beating the crap out of me…but not this, this was far worse than any beating he could have given me.

"Does she know?"

"Yes." He looked up at me and my heart went out to him. "She said that she loves you, Jacob." It was my turn to fight back the tears. I wasn't a crier, but within the last 24 hours I was becoming someone completely different. I didn't even recognize myself.

"She did?" I nodded. "I imprinted on _her_, she didn't imprint on _me_." I said bitterly. "She doesn't love me." He turned his attention back to his feet.

"She will."

"I should go." He didn't protest. I opened the door but before I walked out he walked up to me.

"Paul?" I turned around.

"Yeah, Jake?"

He punched me as hard as he could in the gut and I doubled over.

"You hurt her and I will kill you." He pushed me out of his room and closed the door in my face.


	9. Lost Causes

Jacob's POV

I hurried over to Bella's house as fast as I could, violating all of the speed limits in the process. I knocked on the door and Charlie opened it.

"Can I see Bella?"I asked frantically.

"Is everything ok, Jacob?" no everything was not ok! It seems that I am destined to always have obstacles in the way of being with your daughter.

"Charlie, I need to speak with her." My voice cracked and I felt the burning in my eyes. I was shaking nervously. "Please?" I added.

"She's upstairs in her room." I pushed passed him and flew up the stairs. I opened the door and my heart sunk. She was sleeping so peacefully her hair sprawled across the pillow. I walked over to the bed and was annoyed that I could smell fresh vampire scent…and Paul's cologne. It was a never ending battle. One that I am willing to fight if it meant being with Bella.

I sat down beside her.

"Paul?" Consider that a knife straight through the heart.

"No, Bella honey, it's me Jacob." Her eyes shot open and she sat up throwing her arms around me. That was much better.

"Oh, Jacob! I'm so glad you're here. There's something I need to tell you." She looked like she might be about to burst out in tears.

"Bells, Paul just told me." She raised her eyebrow at me.

"He did?" I nodded. "Is that why you came here, because Paul told you he imprinted on me?"

"Yes, Bella." She hugged me tighter and I hugged her right back running my hands through her hair. She began to cry and I had no idea what to do.

"Shh…Bells, it's ok. I understand if you want to be with him." She pulled back suddenly and looked at me furiously.

"Huh? Jacob, I left Edward to be with you. Don't you want me? I thought that's what you wanted."

"Hey, hey…yes! Of course I want to be with you. I've told you that a million times."

"Then what the heck are you talking about?"

"Bella, he imprinted on you. He will be everything you ever wanted and needed." She didn't say anything.

"Are you breaking up with me, cause you know I was kind of hoping to date you before you decided to give up on me." I shook my head at her. Bella can be so blind sometimes.

"What I'm saying is that if you do decide to be with Paul…I won't stand in your way. I can't compete with an imprint."

"He kissed me…I kissed him back." Yet another knife to the heart. Someone please kill me now, put me out of my misery. I felt myself start to shake. I took a deep breath trying to calm myself.

"Jacob, I'm so confused. Look at me! I'm a mess. I know without a doubt that I love YOU! But I'm worried…I care about Paul too. I didn't know I did or that I even could but I feel terrible."

I held her close to me and wondered if this would be the last time her and I would be alone together. I thought of how it would be if I had to see her with Paul and it made my stomach churn. It was bad enough having these thoughts of her and Edward, but someone from my own pack; that was different. I would have to hear and see through Paul's thoughts how happy they were together. When they had kids I would have to be there. I would never escape it and I would be tortured forever. I realized what I needed to do but before I could speak Bella interrupted my mental rambling with another cheerful bit of news.

"Edward was here right before Paul arrived." I stiffened. What the hell was that leech coming here for and how was I going to protect her if there was none stop traffic in her bedroom? This was a nightmare.

"He said that he still wanted to be with me. Actually, his exact words were 'I'm not going to let you go that easy' and that was _after_ he kissed me."

"He kissed you too?!" I said trying to keep my voice calm and not doing a very good job of it. Why was everyone getting to kiss her but me? Maybe the universe was trying to tell me something.

"I had to tell him to stop twice before he let me go." That does it; Edward was going to die…again, permanently this time.

"I know what you're thinking Jacob, and it's not worth it."

"Bella, listen to me. Please stay away from him-"

"That won't be a problem…"

"Just hear me out. Stay away from Edward but maybe you shouldn't dismiss Paul so quickly. I know – hold on let me finish." I said as she tried to protest. "I'm not just saying this for you; I'm saying it for me too. Bella I want nothing more in this world than to be the one who takes care of you and loves you. I want to be the one you chose to be with, but it's gotten a lot more complicated. I don't know of one imprint that hasn't resulted in the _imprinted_ falling in love. Although I'm already irrevocably in love with you Bells, I'm afraid to give up my final reservations only to find out that down the road you've decide that maybe I'm not the one you want anymore and that Paul is who you truly love. Do you understand what that would do to me, Bella? That would break me. I don't think I would ever recover – it's bad enough as it is now." I felt the burning in my eyes and knew I wouldn't be able to fight them back any longer. This was the hardest, most painful thing I ever had to do or say.

"If you can honestly say that you do love me after…you know, being with Paul you know where I live, you know my number. My heart will always belong to you Bells." I put my hands on her face, caressing it, memorizing it.

"You're irreplaceable. I'll wait for you." The tears spilled over and I didn't bother to wipe them away. Bella's tears streamed down her face as well. I wiped them away and kissed both her eyes.

"I'm gonna go now, Bella. Call Paul." And with that I brought her close to me, kissed her hair then got up and left.

*********

I spent the rest of the day in the garage working on a part for my car trying to push thoughts of Bella out of my mind. I ended up banging it with a hammer until it was unrecognizable. I threw it across the garage with so much force it dented the opposite wall. I leaned back on the wall and slid down unable to keep thoughts of Bella at bay any longer.

I yelled and swore for hours on end until all the energy was drained from me. Misery overcame me and I fell asleep outside like the pathetic loser I was.


	10. The Call

Bella's POV

I spent the last three days alone in my room only coming down to pretend that everything was ok for Charlie's sake. When Jacob left the other day Charlie came to my room demanding to know why two of the guys from the Rez had come and gone so quickly. I decided that the truth – to an extent – was the best way to go. I told him that I wanted to be with Jacob but that I had feelings for Paul that were fairly recent and that Jacob basically told me that I should be with Paul. The look on his face was priceless. I could tell that Charlie instantly regretted asking me anything.

So since then I decided that staying in my room would be the best way to avoid most of my problems. The only one I wasn't able to completely ignore was my Edward problem…actually, let me try that again. The one I wasn't able to completely ignore was my Edward and Alice problem. She came over the next day demanding to know why I had the sudden change of heart in regards to her brother. I didn't have an answer for her. I thought, maybe if I ignored her she would go away, that wasn't the case. She decided that if I was going to be silent so would she. Only she was going to be silent in an 'I'm going to stand at the foot of your bet utterly still and not move until you tell me what's going on' way. It was really creepy and I know that's what she was going for. So I finally broke and told her that her brother is a good guy, just not for me. He screwed up and I really didn't feel like giving him another chance. I told her that I loved Jake and if she had a problem with that she can take it up with her brother since it was his decision to leave me in the first place. After much pouting and arguing later she finally left. After that Edward showed up every night. The first night he came he said it was because he wanted to protect me from Victoria incase she decided to show up. I was so afraid of Victoria that I didn't argue but I made him stay at the foot of the bed on the floor where I couldn't see him. What he did while I was asleep I had no idea. The next day he tried to play the same card but I wasn't buying it. So he confessed that he just didn't want to see me with Jacob. I rolled my eyes and said, bitterly, that that wouldn't be a problem anymore. He didn't press the issue but he did have that stupid mischievous grin of his.

"I don't love you anymore, Edward." I would say and his only response would be, "Yeah, you do." I didn't argue. I knew what I felt and if Edward was living in denial than that was his problem – not mine.

The third night I was done. I missed Jake and strangely enough I was starting to miss Paul too. Edward came through the window as he usually did and had the nerve to lay down with me in bed.

"Get out! I don't want to see you anymore Edward! Leave!"

"I know you don't want me to leave,"

"What kind of delusions are going on in your mind right now? Get out! I want to see my friends. I'm leaving now."

"No, you're not." I stared at him furious that he was going to come into my room and tell me what to do when I didn't even want to see him.

If you try to stop be I'll yell and Charlie will come in here and see you.

"Fine, Bella! It's your funeral." And he was gone. Thank God!

I looked over at my clock and it was 12:05 in the morning. I guess I would be waking someone up.

I snuck down the stairs avoiding all the ones that creaked and got into my truck. I prayed that Charlie was in a deep sleep so he wouldn't hear me leaving.

I made it out of the driveway and was on my way over to La Push. I wanted to see Jacob more than anything but thought better of it since he was the one who decided it would be best for me to test the Paul waters out. Ugh. This was so unfair!

So I guess Paul's house it was…only I didn't know where he lived. I only knew where Sam lived and I wasn't about to go there. I'm sure everyone knew what had happened by now and I didn't want to get the look. The last thing I wanted was for them to look at me all crazy cause I was in love with Jacob but Paul imprinted on me.

Oh, the drama. When did my life turn into a soap opera?

Since I didn't know the way to Paul's house I had no other choice than to call him. I pulled out my cell and dialed his number. It went straight to voicemail. Lovely.

"I obviously either don't want to talk to you or I'm too busy to chat so leave a message. If I like you I may call you back. If I don't, hang up and don't call me anymore." BEEP.

"Um...hi, Paul it's Bella. Listen, I wanted to see you. I know it's really late but…just give me a call."

I hung up. I guess I would have to wait for him to call me back. Might as well wait at the beach.

I drove over to First Beach and parked the car to the side. I couldn't see a thing but I could hear the rushing of the waves. It was so peaceful but it wasn't enough to calm my nerves. If I was going to do this thing right it meant giving Paul a chance. The butterflies in my stomach did a little dance. I was nervous, partly because I was terrified and partly because I was a little excited. I thought back to the day he risked his life to keep me safe and I smiled. He was either really brave or really stupid. _Or really in love_. I thought about the way he looked the next day sleeping on Jake's couch and then my phone buzzed. It was him. I flipped the phone open and it almost fell out of my hand I was shaking so much.

"Uh, hello?"

"Bella, I'm glad you called."

"Um…I'm sorry if I woke you but I need to talk to you…preferably in person."

"You didn't wake me Bella. I actually couldn't sleep so I went for a walk. Where are you?"

"First Beach."

"That's what I thought. Come out." I looked out the window and I almost swallowed my heart. Paul was right outside the driver side window. I flipped the phone shut and tossed in on the passenger seat along with the car keys and got out of the car. Paul picked me up in a bear hug and I felt a sense of familiarity and relaxed. I was so wound up; just the presence of him eased all my jitters instantly.

"Hi." I said. I know I had a stupid smile on my face. I tried to suppress it but found that I couldn't.

"Hi," he said back with an equally cheesy grin. He took my hand and led me away from the car.

"Come on, let's go take a walk."I couldn't seem to concentrate on anything other than the warmth of his hand in mine so when he said my name I had no idea if he was talking to me or not.

"Are you okay Bella?"

"Oh! Yeah, I'm just…a little nervous to be completely honest."

"I know what you mean." He stopped and faced me. My eyes were starting to adjust to the night and I could clearly make out all of his features. He looked…reserved, like he was expecting bad news.

"You had something you wanted to tell me?"

I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. This was it. It was now or never.

"I've been thinking about what you said to me the other day and I think we should give this thing a try."

He was silent for a while and stared at me in disbelief. Was he not saying anything because he didn't want to be with me? Did he change his mind? Oh my God, was he mistaken about imprinting on me? Funny how the thought of that scared me.

"Say something." I snapped.

"I…I…just can't believe it. You said you love Jacob. I didn't think you would have wanted to give this a try at all."

"I do love Jacob but I'm starting to feel something for you and I can't put my finger on it…and…I don't know what I'm doing. I'm really confused but all I know is that for these past three days I haven't been able to get you out of my head. Every time I thought of you I wanted to call. I wanted to hear your voice and to be honest that scares the hell out of me cause I don't really know you. I mean I _know_ you but I…don't _know_ you. This is all new to me. I don't know what the heck an imprint entails but I know that I would be cheating myself and hurting you if I didn't try and I'm so-"

He cut me off with a kiss. I was thrown off for a second but it didn't take me more than that to respond to his touch. I pulled his face closer to mine and then slid my arms around his neck. He placed his arms around me almost as if he was afraid if he squeezed too tight he would break me. He broke the kiss and rested his forehead against mine. We were both breathing pretty heavily.

"So, we're together I take it."

"No, Paul, I kiss all of my friends like that. You should see me and Angela after a three day weekend."

"That sounds hot, can I watch next time?" I punched him in the chest and he didn't even flinch. I think I cracked a couple knuckles in the process. He, of course, just laughed at me.

"So…what now?" I asked.

"Does Charlie know you're gone?" I shook my head. "Ok, so we need to get you home."

"What? Why?"

"Well, I just got you. I don't want your dad finding out that you were out with me all night and then forbid you from seeing me…he's a cop Bella…he's not stupid."

"But I don't want to leave you." I surprised myself with those words almost as much as I surprised him.

He kissed me again only this time it was shorter. "Ok, one hour and that's it." I smiled and bounced a little. "Come on." He took my hand again and led me just a few paces further where there was a blanket on the ground.

"Were you expecting someone?" He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. He picked me up in his arms and laid me down on the blanket.

"Only you. Always you." He laid down next to me and I laid my head on his chest. We looked up at the stars and he told me stories of his family, mostly his mom and dad. We laughed at each other about silly little things until we just fell silent. I was content and it didn't take long for me to drift off to sleep. Oddly enough I wasn't thinking of Paul or the fact that we were not an item. My thoughts were consumed with Jacob.


	11. That's What Friends Are For

**Leah's POV**

I got a call from Jacob telling me that he needed more movie therapy. I rolled my eyes at the phone.

"No way Jake. I remember what happened last time. No." he was silent on the other end for a moment and then blurted out "Paul imprinted on Bella." I didn't need to hear anymore.

"Be ready at eight. I'll stop by then."

"Thanks." was all he said before hanging up the phone. Bella was really starting to get on my nerves. Jacob was a good kid and he didn't deserve to go through all of this hell for a girl who pretty much gave him the shaft for a bloodsucker. I just really didn't see what was so special about her. She was average. She didn't seem to have any personality at all but here goes Jacob fawning over her since they were babies. I mean, there are plenty of girls on the REZ dying to be with Jacob, but he doesn't see that. He only has eyes for the leech-lover.

Poor Jacob, it wasn't enough that he had to see her go with the Cullen but now Paul, one of his closest friends, imprinted on her – That must have been devastating for him. I kind of felt bad for Paul too. I couldn't imagine falling in love and being bonded for life with a person like that. It was such a waste that all these beautiful guys from the reservation where falling in love with her. If things kept going the way they were us girls were going to have to settle for Fork's townies. I remembered a time before my dad passed away when he took me to the local – and only – sports shop for some fishing gear and little Mike Newton practically drooled over the change when he saw me. Ew, ew, ew. I shuddered at the thought of ever having to date him. I avoided that place like the plague when I found out that I was a wolf. I didn't not want to be anywhere near him if there was even the slightest possibility that I would imprint on him. I shuddered at the thought.

It was already seven so I jumped in the shower then got dressed. I put on my dark wash skinny jeans, a white turtleneck and my black motorcycle jacket. I decided to go with the nine west boots rather than flats. Jake – along with all the other guys on the REZ – had shot up in height and it was annoying looking like a midget standing next to them.

I put on some dark eye shadow and lip gloss, got my cell, credit card and keys and was out the door. I got to Jakes house at 8:03pm and he was already waiting for me outside. I unlocked the doors and he got in the car.

"You're late." He said - his voice flat.

"Yeah, we'll you're irritating. You don't see me complaining."

We drove to Port Angeles in silence most of the way. I sneaked a peak at Jake a couple times only to see his head leaning on the edge of the door looking at the dark nothingness out the window.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked shyly. It pained me to see him like this. This wasn't Jacob. Jacob was happy and full of light. He was always cracking jokes. He was always smiling, so much so that I threatened him one time when I was pissed at Sam that if he didn't wipe his stupid smile off of his face I would smack it off. He only smiled brighter. This person sitting next to me now, I didn't like. Whereas before his smile would make you smile…his sadness now seared through me crushing me as well. I wanted to help him. I just didn't know how I could ever find the Jake who was so happy about life.

"No. I just want to see people killing each other. I want a loud action film to burst my eardrums."

That was it. This had to stop and it needed to happen now. I was not going to help Jacob drawn in his sorrows. I would not be his enabler. I slammed on the breaks and pulled over on the shoulder of the road. I got out of the car and opened his door. I grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pulled him out of the car. I smacked him – hard.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Leah? What the hell did I do to you?"

"Snap out of it Jacob." He looked at me with his eyes and mouth wide open.

"I called you so that you could help me, not so you can smack me around."

"Well then you called the wrong person cause I will smack your ass around if you don't get out of whatever funk it is that you're in now. You have no control over Bella's emotions for the Cullen nor do you have any control over Paul's imprint on her but what you do have control over is how you react to it. You love her? Then go get her. If you don't want that then I completely understand. I am your friend Jacob and I will not sit around and see you like this. It hurts me to see you so…so…ugh! So damn broken!" I stomped my foot, my fists balled up at my sides.

He dropped his gaze to his feet. He apparently had nothing to say and neither did I. This was very uncomfortable. I did the only thing I could think of. I hugged him. I guess it was so out of character for me that he froze.

"Um…what are you doing Leah?"

"I'm hugging you, you moron. Hug me back or I'll be forced to knee you." That made him laugh. He put his arms around me and we stayed there like that for a while. He was so tall that he had to bend over a little but he didn't protest, he didn't move and he didn't break the hug. I guess he needed this more than he knew. After a couple minutes he tightened the hug and rested his head on my head. I felt him shake a little and take several short breaths.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

"You were right before, I am a sad pathetic little puppy."

"Yeah, well you can't help the hand that was dealt to you, but is she really worth all of this Jacob?"

He stepped back and leaned against the car.

"Yes, she is worth all of this." Ugh, damn Bella. She always had to ruin everything.

"You know it wasn't easy for me when Sam imprinted on Emily, but I had to move on. There was nothing I could do about it. I would tell you to do the same thing, but I would be betraying Paul, that and Bella isn't the one who imprinted on him. You might still have a chance with her if you love her that much."

He looked up at me. I guess he had forgotten that I knew what he was going through more than anyone else. Seeing my cousin with the love of my life was terrible, just as much as it was for Jacob to see the love of his life with his best friend and pack member.

"It's like I told Bella, I can't compete with an imprint."

"And why the hell not? What you need to do is show her the Happy Jacob. She needs to see the person she fell in love with, right? This" I motioned to him "is not that person."

"So, I'm just supposed to forget my misery and have fun and smile and laugh while Paul gets to spend all of his time with her and then come back on patrols with her on the mind."

"That's exactly what I'm telling you to do. Why can't you still be her friend while she's with Paul? Show her; make her fall in love with you all over again. Wow I can't believe I'm telling you to do that. Paul is going to kill me."

He thought about what I said for a second and then held out his hand to me.

"Give me the keys, you drive like a maniac." I looked up at him and smiled tossing him the keys while I got in the passenger seat. He closed my door and then went over to the driver seat. He got in by a miracle. He pulled the seat back and looked over at me.

"Geez, it's like you're an Umpa Lumpa. I'm surprised you don't need a phone book to see above the steering wheel."

I punched him in the shoulder and he flinched.

"Ouch." He said as he rubbed his shoulder.

"Don't forget, I'm a wolf too and I can kick your hiney any day of the week Mr. so you'd better watch yourself."

He cocked his head and winked at me and then put on his serious face.

"Thank you, Leah…for knocking some sense into me…literally." And then he smiled and it reached his eyes making them squint like the old Jacob. It was contagious. I smiled back at him and said, "That's what friends are for."

"Put your seatbelt on. I want to see how fast this thing can go." He said as he shifted gears and tore off the side of the road back into traffic.


	12. Betrayal

**Bella's POV**

I heard a knock at the door and I rushed down the stairs almost twisting my ankle in my excitement to see him. I threw the door open and it was just the person I wanted to see. I jumped into his arms and he caught me mid jump into the bear hug that I had gotten so used to. I wrapped my legs around his waist and held his face in my hands as I crushed my lips to his. I pulled back and smiled down at him.

"I missed you."

He chuckled.

"Ditto, Babe. Last night was rough. We patrolled the whole forest and there was no sign of her anywhere. I haven't slept yet but I couldn't wait to see you."

I threw my arms back around him and he held me tighter.

"Egghhemm." Our little reunion was cut short by Charlie. I was set back on my feet and we faced him with guilty looks on our faces.

"Don't you two kids think it's a little early to be…um…_up_? I mean, it's still dark out."

"Oh dad, it's only…" I realized I had no idea what time it was.

"It's six Bells, and I'm off to work. You two kids behave." H e said as he got into his cruiser.

"Looks like we have an entire day all to ourselves. What would you like to do, Babe?" I looked up at him. I had a lot of things I wanted to do and I wanted to start doing them now. Charlie backed out of the driveway but stopped and rolled down the window.

"Paul? Can you take Bella to pick up some Chinese food later? I haven't gotten her car fixed yet and I'll be coming home late so I don't want her to cook."

"Of course Mr. Swan." He called out. My dad rolled his eyes. "Paul, I've told you a million times, it's Charlie." And he took off.

I looked at Paul and shook my head. He looked back at me and smiled.

"What? I'm just trying to be polite."

"You're being a brown noser. Now," I said pulling on his shirt. "Where were we?" his smile got bigger and he leaned down and kissed me deeply. He picked me up again and brought me inside the house closing the door behind him with his foot. He laid me on the couch and laid his head on my chest.

"Uh, what are you doing? I wasn't done kissing you." He laughed and traced circles on my belly as he lifted up his head to look at me.

"I'm so tired Bella. Jacob and I got in another fight. He hasn't forgiven me yet." The sound of Jacob's name still gave me a pang in my heart and stomach. It's been a month and he hasn't called me and he won't pick up the phone when I call. I went to see him a couple times but he wasn't home. Billy said he'd been hanging out with Leah Clearwater on both occasions. Sure, the jealously monster reared its head. I really didn't have room to be jealous but I was. I wanted to rip Leah's perfect straight black hair out of her skull and make her eat it. So I took the hint from Jacob. I knew he didn't want to see me. So I stopped calling and I stopped going to his house and I focused all of my attention on Paul.

"He doesn't care about me anymore Paul." He chuckled bitterly.

"Bella, I see what's in his head. Nothing's changed, he's just really angry…at me, not at you."

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway. He's not even trying to be my friend so – whatever. I'm sorry you got in a fight. I know it's got to be hard for you too."

"Yeah, I miss my friend and I can't say that I like the thoughts that he has about you" He kissed my cheek. "But I wouldn't trade you for the world."

"You're just saying that cause you want me to let you go to bed and sleep." He looked at me and shrugged his shoulders. I rolled my eyes. "Come on." I said getting up and taking his hand. I led him up the stairs to my room. I had already made the bed so I pulled down the covers, fluffed the pillows and motioned for him to get in. He did and then patted the space next to him. I gave him a big smile and literally jumped in bed. I curled up next to him and he brushed his fingers through my hair.

"You know, I still can't believe we're together. I remember before all of this…I didn't like you, but I think it's because you were so whipped over Edward. It irritated me."

"Paul you've always been a hot head. You don't like anyone who doesn't like what you like…not right away anyway…I remember the first time I saw you…when you turned into a wolf and almost killed me."

"I wasn't really going to kill you…I was just mad and I was showing off…that and I couldn't really control it." I was silent for a while. I replayed all my interactions with him and I cannot recall one pleasant conversation.

"Paul, what if there wasn't an imprint? What if it was just, normal? Do you think we would be together?" he signed and leaned up on his elbow.

"Bella, I don't know. All I do know is that I love you more than anything else." He pushed back a strand of hair out of my face. "I don't know how I can describe it to you. It's like…without you I'm blind and the whole world is nothing but blackness, but with you everything comes back into focus. I would do anything for you Bella. This…thing…this…magical force feeling…the imprint, I can't break it. I don't want to, but I can't even if I tried. It would be like cutting off my own leg." He rolled up on top of me and brushed my lips with his, careful not to touch his body to mine.

"You don't like it do you?"

I just stared back at him. He knew me. I don't know how but he could read me like a book. The answer was no. I did not like him not having the free will to love me. I felt like he was being forced to do something he didn't want to. Most times I was able to push those kinds of thoughts out of my mind but sometimes, like now when I felt so much for him I wondered if this had never happened could I have ever been with him. It almost felt like I loved a machine that was built to love me rather than learned to love me of its own volition.

"Hmm, well…do you like _this_?" he said teasingly as he kissed my forehead. "Or how about this?" he kissed my nose "or this?" he kissed my cheek "this?" his voice came down to soft whisper as he kissed my neck. My heart rate increased considerably. "Oh, I know, you'll definitely like _this_." And he kissed me passionately bringing his hands from my face down my neck, down my shoulders to my waist and thigh pulling it up over him. I reached up pulling him down so I could feel him pressed against me. I pulled at his shirt but my hands were shaking so bad they fumbled on it. He pulled my hands away, broke the kiss for less than a second ripping the shirt off himself and came back down and claimed my lips again. He grabbed the bottom of my shirt and lifted it up over my head. I had a tank top underneath and he groaned. I laughed against his mouth and rolled up on top of him.

"Uh ah." He said as he rolled back on top of me. He kissed the hollow of my neck and down to the edge of my tank top. I sucked in a deep breath. I thought my heart was going to literally jump out of my chest –and then he was gone and I heard a loud shattering noise.

I sat up and Paul had been thrown against the mirror on my door shattering it to pieces while Edward stood over his unconscious body. Before I could scream or rush at him Victoria _materialized_ out of thin air and covered my mouth with her strong cold hand.

"Shhh, we don't want to wake up your precious little boy toy over there now do we?" her voice was colder than her dead heart. I looked up at Edward feeling something way beyond betrayal.

Victoria let me go and Edward was instantly in front of me. "I told you it would be your funeral." And then he slapped me so hard everything went black.


	13. Helplessness

**Jacob's POV**

Four hours I had to patrol the forest around Forks and LaPush with Sam and Paul. Four hours of feeling anxiety about Emily through Sam's mind. Four hours of Paul thinking about Bella and how he was going to meet up with her in the morning. If I could feel _their_ emotions I'm sure they knew that I was just seconds away from killing Paul.

_Jacob, calm yourself and do not attack Paul – that's an order._

Sam had been giving me the alpha command for weeks on end. No matter how I tried to get around it to find a loop hole I couldn't. Paul had apologized a million times over but I wasn't having it. Rationally I knew that it wasn't his fault. However, I cannot bring myself to be ok with him and Bella even if I was the one to push her to give him a chance. I missed her so much that every day I was away from her I grew even more bitter. The only thing that kept me from losing my mind completely was Leah. Over the past month she held back no punches – literally. We got close over the last month and she was quickly becoming my only friend as everyone else had already gotten tired of me and my bitterness. No one wanted to be around me anymore.

_Bella does, she misses you a lot. She wants to see you. _

_Get out of my head Paul. _

_Jacob, I've said I'm sorry I don't know what else you want from me._

_I want you to leave Bella alone._

_You know that's not going to happen Jacob, but she wants to be your friend. You are very important to her. I see what it does to her every time I bring you up. She cried for the first couple weeks without you._

He thought about it and it was like a YouTube video playing in my head.

"_Bella, honey, have you tried calling Jacob?" The tears streamed down her face like tiny little waterfalls._

"_I TRIED! I even went to see him but Billy keeps telling me he's out with Leah! Is he trying to replace me? I know he's hurt but I need him Paul, he's my best friend. I miss him so much._

_Paul hugged her and tried to calm her down but she only cried harder._

_Is that what you want, to hurt her?_

_Paul, quit it._ Demanded Sam.

_You two need to get over your differences now. You care about Bella? Then keep a look out for Victoria. Quil, Embry and Jared tracked her scent yesterday and we need to bring her down now before someone gets hurt._

Another three and a half hours later we still hadn't found her. Sam told us all to go home and get some rest while the other three took their shifts.

I phased back and Paul was right behind me.

"I don't want to talk to you. Anyway, aren't you supposed to meet up with Bella?" he put his hand on my shoulder and I brushed it off and pushed him. He pushed me back.

"You know what, forget it. Don't talk to Bella then. But know this, Jacob. You will pay for every tear she sheds for you." And with that he walked away to be with the girl that should have been mine.

*****

I met up with Leah after I went home and changed. I knew she was beginning to have feelings for me. So I confronted her about it last week.

"I will always love Bella."

"I know." She said as she put her arms around my waist. "I t doesn't change the fact that I care about you or that she's with Paul."

I let things be whatever they were between Leah and I. I didn't have the strength to be alone. I know I wasn't being fair to her but at this point I just really didn't care.

I pulled up to her house and she jumped in the car.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked as she leaned over to kiss me. I didn't feel a thing…just the same old numbness.

"Breakfast." She said cheerfully.

I drove to the little bed and breakfast in Forks. I opened the car door for her like I was supposed to and did the same with the restaurant door.

We sat down at a booth towards the end and sat across from each other. She rambled on about I have no idea what as my mind wandered to the vision that Paul showed me earlier of Bella crying cause I was ignoring her. Lord knows all I wanted was to be with her. I was just terrified. If I saw her would I be able to keep my hands off of her? Could I be JUST her friend?

"You're thinking about her again." It wasn't even a question. This wasn't the first time I tuned her out while thinking of Bella.

"You need to talk to her or you're going to be this zombie wolf forever."

"I'm sorry, Leah. I thought I could maybe work things out with you…but I can't. I'm damaged." She reached out and grabbed my hand.

"If I could get Sam back I would do it without giving it a thought. Go to her Jacob. She needs you." I looked at her, shocked.

"Go, now. Don't worry about taking me home. I have patrols with the guys in a couple hours so I'll just phase. I said go – now." She was right. I needed to see Bella and beg her to forgive me for being a jackass.

I got in my car and sped towards her house. Her car was in the drive way and the place reeked of vampire. Both of which could mean nothing good. Edward and Victoria. I didn't even turn the car off or close the door. I knocked down the door calling out for Bella.

"Bella!?" the downstairs was completely empty and the scent was stronger toward the stairs. I ran up them two at a time and I thought I was going to lose my mind when I opened her door. The room was a mess. There was broken glass and blood on the floor. The bed also had blood on it. _My_ blood chilled. I froze, completely paralyzed with fear for Bella. They had her. They had her and she could be – no I wouldn't think about that. She had to be ok.

I heard a noise over by the other side of her bed. I hurried over fearing the worse. It was Paul. I picked him up and laid him on the bed. He was out cold and had cuts all over his chest. His eye was black and he had a gash on eyebrow.

"Paul, wake up." I shook him and his eyes fluttered open. When he opened them all the way he shot up and started shaking.

"No, no! Don't Phase Paul I need to know where Bella is." He tried to think and broke out in tears.

"I was with her…we were…and then he…the red head was with him….and then they…They took her."

"Ok, calm down and say that again only this time please make sense."

"I CAN'T CALM DOWN!!" He started breathing hard and bolted towards the door. I followed him out. He went into the woods behind her house and phased and kept running. I phased too and went after him.

His thoughts replayed in his mind on loop and I was seeing everything in red. Him and Bella on the bed and then pain in the back of the head and then Bella with her mouth covered up by Victoria and Edward Slapping her and then blackness. Over and over again the images played in his mind and then mine. We kept running and running until we lost track of the scent. We doubled back the other way and it was gone. The scent didn't go any further than twenty feet from the house in either direction. Paul danced around in circles feeling helpless until he collapsed on the ground whimpering.

_I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything. I tried to fight but I passed out. I wasn't there for her when she needed me the most and now I can't find the damn scent and I lost her. I lost her, Jacob!_

_I didn't know what to say. His emotions were mixing with mine and I was one breath away from collapsing on the floor myself. _

_Paul, Jacob, we came over as fast as we could._

Sam, Embry, Quil, Jared, Leah and Seth were all stepping out of the forest into Bella's back yard. Seth walked over to Paul and nudged him with his snout. Sympathy and fear ran through everyone's mind but not his. His thoughts were of Bella being safe and us getting the vampires out of the way. I could hug him. Paul got up and stood in front of Sam.

_Tell me what to do, please. _

Sam stood a little straighter.

_Victoria does not have the power of invisibility, she has the power of teleportation that is why we cannot find her scent in the woods and that's why the trail ends cold here. Jacob, go back up to the room with Seth and see if you can find anything up there. We'll be down here._

I went upstairs and sniffed around the room but found nothing.

_Hey Jacob, over here._

He had the bedcovers that were now on the floor in his mouth. He dragged it away from the floor and written on the floor in blood was:

J.B. U have 1 day – 602 E Florence Ave. We will trade her life 4 urs. B happy we left the other 1 alive. Come alone.

It was written in her blood. I could smell Bella all over it. I lost it. I broke down. I heard a howl outside and I knew it was Paul. He saw it through our connection. Before I could succumb to helplessness Seth nudged me down the stairs and back outside with the others.

_We need to have a plan, Jacob you are not going alone. _ Directed Sam.

_The hell I'm not! I will not risk Bella's life._

_Sam's right. _Agreed Paul.

_What? Paul, are you crazy. I would think you out of all of us would agree with me not to put Bella in anymore danger than she's already in. You were supposed to protect her and you didn't!_

_YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THIS!? I wasn't strong enough to stay conscious long enough to protect her._

_Enough you two! Jacob, this is not Paul's fault. It would have been the same if it was you instead of him. Paul, what do you suggest we do?_

_Make a plan. Surround the place. Jacob needs to secure Bella if he can. If not I will be close behind him and if they take him I will come in after her. If the fight becomes too much the rest of you join in. There are eight of us and two of them._

I was willing to risk my life for Bella's but these were vampires we were dealing with. If I went by myself who's to say that they wouldn't kill us both just for sport. Paul was right. We needed to do this the right way, and his way would yield the best outcome…I hope.


	14. Twisted

**Edward's POV**

*ok first of all I want to say Ew, Ew, Ew – being inside this dude's mind was creepy! EW EW EW! Ok…now on with the story…Team Ed readers…don't hate me*

I gave Bella every single part of my heart. I loved her more than my own desire for mortality. I left her to protect her not because I didn't love her, not because I didn't want to spend every second with her. I wanted her safe and if it meant sacrificing my being with her then so be it. Her life was more important.

I was willing to die (permanently) when I thought she was dead. I could not exist without her. When I saw her again at Piazza dei Priori I felt like I was given a second chance at life (sort of speak) and love. I thought it meant that no one thing could tear us apart no matter how big. Oh, how wrong I was!

I came back to Forks to be with her because no matter how hard I tried she was a magnet to my soul and I could not stay away from her. I was too selfish, too overwhelmingly in love with her. And so we got back together after I promised an eternity of making it up to her, after I finally gave in to her stubbornness about wanting to become a vampire. I had gotten everything prepared for her and she ran away. Bella ran away _from me_. I guess that was kind of ironic, seeing as I ran away from her first. I didn't understand it but I was so against ripping her soul from her that I let her go. I thought that she just needed time to think, that maybe she wasn't ready to become a monster just yet. I turned to Alice when Bella had been gone for a while and she shrugged at me.

_I can't see her future Edward. It's…blank._

That could only mean one thing. Jacob - that obnoxious little mongrel who tried to take advantage of her being in pain to set himself up to be her man, that dog who wanted to take my place while I was gone and who continued to drool over her every second he got. He came over one day while Alice had taken Bella shopping demanding to see her.

"She doesn't want to see you. Can you blame her Pup? You were nothing more than a place holder to her." seeing the look of complete and utter pain on his face was priceless. He wasn't, however, going down without a fight.

He played back moments of him and her together through his mind, flinging his thoughts at me. He showed me Bella pale, depressed, helpless, distraught, and broken. He showed me how happy she was _only_ when she was around him. He showed me how she had accepted him as the werewolf he was. He showed me just what they were both about to do before I called her home when I thought she was dead. She was going to kiss him. She was actually going to give this puppy a slobbering kiss!

I pushed him and he landed somewhere about two hundred feet away smashing into a tree. He didn't come back and he never called Bella. Mission accomplished…until Bella went running to him. Even then, I thought, _well ok she's just scared and wants to see her friend_ only to find out later that night she was hurt and Carlisle was going over to the reservation to help her.

"Stay here, son." He says to me. "I will be going by myself. I will bring you the news when I get back. Do NOT break the treaty by crossing the lines." And then he was gone. That hour was as excruciating as anything I had ever experienced…well not as bad as thinking Bella was dead, but close.

Once Carlisle came back and told me that Victoria had hurt one of the dogs and almost killed Bella my anger was uncontrollable. How many times had I told Bella that hanging out with their little wolf pack was dangerous? I was furious at the good for nothing dogs that were just barely able to keep my Bella safe. I made an attempt to leave only Jasper held me back. Can you believe he actually sat on me? He _sat _on me! I stood there for an hour trying to struggle my way out and when I finally did manage to get him off of me, we fought for another two hours. He kept saying that a treaty was a treaty and that I couldn't go. Well, treaty or not my Bella was hurt and I wasn't going to leave her with the mongrels. I threw him through a window and fled. I ran so fast it took me a total of 2.42 minutes to reach Jacob's house.

When I got there I thought_, I already ruined the treaty, I'm not going to just barge in. I'll knock_. And I heard my Bella's voice through the door;

"Will you forgive me, Jake?" she sounded almost breathless and I couldn't even begin to imagine what she should be sorry for. I heard Jacob's heart stutter and then Bella's voice again.

"Then why haven't you kissed me?" E_xcuse me?_ I had heard enough – so I knocked down the door and there was my heart and soul in the arms of the DOG – she was going to kiss him.

I begged for her to come back home with me but she refused. I was confused. What had I done to her? Well, then Billy decided to show up and I knew I was pushing my luck by staying there any longer. I reached out to Bella one last time and Jacob had the nerve to block her from me, as if I was going to harm her! I left but I didn't go home. I went to wait for Bella in her room. She came home and Charlie was screaming at her for not calling when she said she would.

"…at least you weren't with the Cullen…" he said to her. He was lucky he was her father or he would've seriously paid for that comment. Impatiently I waited for her, the whole while hearing her talk about me and Jacob's as if we were even in the same category.

"So are you and Edward through?" Said Charlie.

"I don't know. I think that chapter in my life has ended, you know? I just haven't gotten around to telling him." I felt my non beating heart shatter into a million different pieces – but it didn't end there.

"So…you and Jacob?" Charlie egged on.

"Are still just friends, dad. Maybe more…someday. What's with all the interest in my love life all of the sudden?"

"Bells, Hun, Edward is a bastard. You deserve better – a lot better….Just…give Jacob a chance. You might find that he's exactly what you're looking for."

I took every ounce of self restraint not to go downstairs, throw Bella over my shoulder and take her far, far away from this God forsaken town. Instead I stood there on the bed. I was determined not to let her see me distraught. I was pissed. She was going to break up with me? Why? What have I done to her other than love her? Sure, I left but not because I _wanted_ to!

When she finally came into her room I was ready to show her how much she did want me.

"Hey Babe." I said without looking up from the book in my hand that I was pretending to read.

"Uh…what are you doing here?" she said irritated. She used to love it when she came up to find me here.

"Oh, you know," I said nonchalantly "Just checking up on my girlfriend who nearly got herself killed last night. So, _sweetie_, how are you _feeling_?"

"Why are you acting like that?"

"Why did I interrupt your kiss with Jacob?"

"It was an _almost_ kiss thanks to you! And really, don't you think that me freaking out on you yesterday was a sign that said, hey, maybe I don't really want to be with you anymore."

"Is that what I was supposed to get out of it? Cause I thought, gee, maybe she finally got some sense knocked into her. If you recall, I was the one who was against it from the start!"

"Listen, Edward all drama aside, I thought that I could forgive you. I wanted to forgive you…but I can't. I thought I would never get over you, but I guess I just needed you to come back to realize that I already was."

That was it, I couldn't take it anymore. I sped over to her.

"Bella, you love me. You're just scared. I said I was sorry, I didn't expect you to believe me but if I have to spend the rest of my existence proving it to you I would."

"What if I don't want that?"

"You want that." Of course she wanted that. Who else would love her more than I did and so I decided that I would show her, so I kissed her – I kissed her more passionately than I had ever kissed her before. I felt the familiar burning in my throat. I wanted her blood I wanted to bite down on her and just drain her – but I refrained.

She kept telling me to stop but I knew she didn't mean it. She was playing hard to get. Possibly trying to get back at me. That's ok. I could play along with her.

"I'm not going to let you go that easy, Bella." I kissed her hair and left her there. She just needed time to think – that's all, I said to myself.

So I waited...and waited, and waited and waited. She never called. She never came over – nothing.

I spoke to Alice since she confronted me about why she had visions of me stopping her from ever seeing Bella again. I told her what had happened and she said:

"Try and stop me." As she fled out the door to Bella's house. She came back sadder than I had ever seen her before.

"She doesn't want to talk to me. She always tells me everything! Thanks a lot Edward; this is all your fault." She hasn't spoken to me since then.

Bella was starting to ruin everything. It was like she dangled a juicy piece of meat in front of me only to snatch it away and then laugh about it. I decided I would give her one more chance. I went to her house and made up some stupid story about trying to protect her from Victoria – she bought it. She still made me stay away from her. The next day I came over thinking…maybe I was starting to break her down – wrong.

"I don't love you anymore Edward." I smiled at her and said "Yeah, you do." I was perfect for her. Of course she loved me, so I came back a third night and she yelled at me.

"Get out! I don't want to see you anymore, Edward! Leave"

"I know you don't want me to leave."

"What kind of delusions are going on in your mind right now? Get out! I want to see my friends. I'm leaving now."

"No you're not." She looked up at me I thought she might hit me. In the end she just said "if you try to stop me I'll yell and Charlie will come here and see you." That was it. I had had enough of this ungrateful bitch! There was nothing I could do to please her. She could go to hell for all I cared.

"Fine, Bella!" Not even trying to control my anger "It's your funeral." And I got the hell out of dodge.

A couple weeks passed by and I was seething. I don't know who Bella thought she was but she was going to pay for breaking my heart!

One night I was hunting only to be attacked by Victoria of all people. We were a perfect match for each other. We fought for several hours until we both burst out into laughter. She was impressed and to be completely honest, so was I. She was completely pissed off at me still for killing James but it took her no time at all to get over that as soon as I started paying her some attention. We met up with each other every night – I couldn't let my family know or else things could get messy – she told me about her power and how she can show up anywhere at any time. She told me how she came here to kill Bella. Then it occurred to me. What better way to get back at Bella then her pathetic little puppy.

So, in the end Vicky and I decided that we would kill them both: Bella for James and Jake for Bella.

So here we are now. The stupid whore was laying in bed with…Paul?! WTF? Oh hell no! I grabbed his ass by the back of the neck and fling him across the room. Vicky showed up and grabbed Bella.

"Shhh, we don't want to wake up your precious little boy toy over there now do we?" she whispered in Bella's ear. I was starting to really like her cool calculating voice.

Bella looked up at me then. She looked at me like I was the monster here – absolutely not. She was the monster! I walked up to her and stood very close to her face.

"I told you it would be your funeral." And I smacked her just hard enough for her to pass out but not hard enough to break her bones…I would wait until we had Mr. Black to watch her suffer…one broken bone at a time.

Victoria let her body slump on the bed as she walked over to the Pup's unconscious body. She kicked him over and over again. It was quite hilarious watching him flop around the floor like a rag doll. She then picked up one of the pieces of broken glass from the floor and walked back over to Bella.

She drew a long line down Bella's arm slicing it with the jagged piece of glass. I watched as her blood poured out of her. It was all too much. I threw Vicky aside and she landed on her dresser. She ran over to me and threw me towards the opposite wall.

"Control yourself. You can't kill her here, what would be the fun in that?" she was right…I had to wait just a little longer…than I could suck her dry.

She put her finger in Bella's cut and used it as ink and the floor as paper.

J.B. U have 1 day – 602 E Florence Ave. We will trade her life 4 urs. B happy we left the other 1 alive. Come alone.

Brilliant! She walked back over to me when she was finished and let me lick her fingers clean.

"You ready to go baby?" she leered at me. I nodded and she grabbed Bella and transported us out of the house to 602 E Florence Ave where we would wait for the mutt to approach his death.


	15. Bonds

**Paul's POV**

I told Jacob once before that if it came down to protecting Bella I would lay down my life – no questions asked. Now that this day was here, the feeling hasn't changed. I love her. I failed her once. I would not let it happen again.

Knowing that if only I was stronger, quicker Bella would be ok, it killed me. I was almost non functional. I needed to get it together; I could not afford to feel sorry for myself. I needed to get Bella out of danger no matter what.

Jared and I decided that Jacob would go in his human form and stay that way unless it was absolutely necessary to phase. It would be the only way to be able to get Bella out quickly. We could not afford any precious seconds phasing.

Jared, Embry and I would wait by the door and two windows. Sam would stay with Leah, Seth and Quil as our back up. The only problem was that there was no way to communicate with Jake during the confrontation. He wasn't in his wolf form. He surprised me by mentioning something I hadn't thought about.

"Paul, do you remember the last time we fought Victoria, when you were trying to protect Bella, you changed back into your human form but somehow you were able to communicate with me and me with you?"

I had to think really hard. That day was such a mess between almost getting killed, protecting Bella and then imprinting on her. But I remembered. Before I phased back Jacob told me that Victoria was coming right at us and I heard him. I looked up at him shocked.

"I think it's only between you and me, Paul. I was able to throw my thoughts at you and you were able to send them back to me. I don't know why, I don't know how but it happened." And then he closed his eyes and starting thinking hard.

_Bella, Bella, Bella, Bella._ I heard him loud and clear.

"Jake! I heard you!" I tried to do the same.

_Please be safe, please be safe, please be safe._

"Yup, loud and clear." We looked at each other then and there was a connection – no, there was a bond.

"I'm sorry – No, man I -" we both started talking at the same time.

"No, Paul, hear me out. I'm sorry. I know you didn't choose this and really…I don't know what I'm trying to say but…I'm sorry."

I put my hand on his shoulder and brought him in. I hugged him and he hugged me back.

_I'm scared for her too, bro. We're gonna get her out. _

Jacob lost it. He broke down.

_I can't lose her Paul, not like this. _

_I know Jacob…I know._

We broke apart and gave each other a knowing look. This might be the last time either of us saw the other alive.

I didn't want to lose Bella, but I also didn't want to lose my best friend.


	16. I'll Never Forgive You, Jacob

**Jacob's POV**

The pack all hit their positions while I stood waiting at the door. Paul was right behind me. He would be covering the door while I was inside. He nodded to me.

_We'll be right here if you need us._

I nodded back and he moved away from the door. I stood there for a second just looking at it. I prayed that everything worked out ok. I didn't care what happened to me, I just needed to get Bella out alive and unharmed. I took a deep breath in and let it out. I couldn't wait any longer. Bella must be terrified. I put my hand on the handle and pushed in.

602 E Florence Ave was a warehouse, an old box warehouse which predictably enough was now abandoned. I opened the door and entered what appeared to be the front lobby. My nerves were shot. I felt like I was in a bad haunted house where you never knew what was going to pop out in front of you at any moment. I slowly shut the door behind me and the outside noise faded into an eerie silence. I looked around me but couldn't see much, my eyes hadn't quite adjusted to the dimness. The only light shone through the dirty windows. I slowly took a couple steps forward. There was a receptionist's desk in front, a couple of dirty chairs and a door behind it. I guess that's where I needed to go. I had a stupid The Price is Right moment: _let's see what's behind door number two._

After another round of deep breaths I opened the second door which led out into the warehouse itself. I instantly felt eyes on me although I couldn't see anyone. The warehouse even though being abandoned still had stacks upon stacks of empty boxes – mazes of them. The room itself was easily the size of half a football field. The ceiling was about three stories high. Beams of sunlight came through the widows showing rays of dust and dirt. I didn't know what I should do. Should I call out? Should I wait? No, no games. We had to get this over with now.

"Ok, I'm here. Where the hell are you?"

"Oh Eddie, he doesn't want to _play_." Victoria's voice rang out breaking the silence only I couldn't tell where it was coming from. She was definitely nowhere in sight.

"Looking for this?" Edward suddenly appeared in front of me holding Bella up off the floor by the neck. She was futilely prying at his hands while kicking her feet in panic. My heart dropped to my feet.

"Bella!" I took a step forward.

"Ah, ah, ah. Stop right there. You move one more inch and I'll snap her neck."

"Jake…go." Bella gasped. I looked at her eyes and tears were streaming down.

"Let her go!" Edward cocked his head to the side and said. "Ok." and flung her half way across the room into a stack of boxes. _Oh my God, Bella!_ I was going to kill Edward!

I made to run to her but was blocked by Victoria who stood directly in front of me.

"I believe my Eddie told you not to move." She traced the lines on my face with her finger and ran her hand through my hair until she grabbed a handful, pulling my head back. She punched me in the stomach sending me a good ten feet backwards into a wall. My head slammed hard against it and I slumped over. It took all of my strength just to stand back up and NOT to phase. This was not good, not good at all.

_Just give us the word and we'll come in._ thought Paul.

_No, not yet._

"Wait a second Vicky. Something is different with the Pup today. I can't read his mind!" Edward walked over to me and grabbed the front of my shirt. He concentrated really hard and then slammed me up against the wall. My head made contact with it again and for a second I saw three Edwards.

"WHY CAN'T I HEAR YOU?"

"Because you're just not good enough." I said hoarsely.

"I'm not good enough? I'M NOT GOOD ENOUGH?!" He picked me up and threw me in the same direction he sent Bella. I landed on her. I scrambled to get off of her and breathed a sigh of relief when she stirred.

"Bella, Bella are you ok?" I whispered frantically.

"Am I in heaven?" she said a little dazed. That was my Bells - the only girl who could make every bad feeling I had disappear just like that. "No, honey, we're currently smack dab in the middle of hell but I'm going to get you out ok?" she nodded her head weakly. I grabbed her and wrapped her arms around my neck and picked her up. I could hear Victoria and Edward yelling at each other in the distance. It seemed they were having relationship problems.

"You're never going to get over her are you?"

"Oh Vicky shut up, you're irritating me. Let's just kill these two, have them for lunch and be done with it all."

"Well, you keep losing control and I don't know if it was such a good idea to get with you in the first place."

"Oh _baby_, don't say that. Come here and give me a kiss. I will make it _all_ better." There was a whole lot of moaning after that.

_Paul, get your ass in here now. I've got Bella. Get those two in their graves NOW!_

They must have been waiting by the warehouse inner door because as soon as I thought it they were there. Paul hadn't phased. I heard through his thoughts that he needed to help me get Bella out. He would back me up if I needed it.

The moment Paul was in view Bella's eyes lit up. He ran over to her and took her from my arms and held her close. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and cried in his shoulder. He Looked at me and motioned that we needed to get out while he tried to calm Bella.

"I thought you were dead." She sobbed.

"No, baby, I'm right here. Shh, Jacob and I are going to get you out."

"Jacob? Oh Jacob, is he ok?" Poor thing didn't even know she was just with me.

"I'm right behind you Bells. I'm ok."

We started running to the door. I was behind Paul and Bella was in his arms facing me. She reached her hand out to me and mouthed "I missed you." I took her hand and mouthed. "Me too."

In the distance Victoria and Edward were unpleasantly surprised by the attack. They growled as the entire pack descended on them.

We took no more than ten paces when Edward and Victoria appeared in front of us. Bella was knocked out of Paul's arms and in an instant Edward had a hold on me and Victoria on Paul. _Damn it!_

"We told you to come alone." Hissed Edward. "And you bring the dogs. Does Bella's life mean nothing at all to you?"

"Bella! Bella Run." Yelled Paul, but she didn't. She stood there looking at us, terror in her eyes. Paul tried kicking out of Victoria's embrace so that he could phase but he couldn't manage it.

"Ohh…this one is a fighter. You're a pretty one; it's too bad that we have to kill you. We could have kept you on as our pet."

Just then the pack rounded the corner. Sam crouched beside Bella followed by Quil. Seth and Leah came towards me and Edward while Jared and Embry flew toward Victoria. Edward dropped me and without looking back I ran toward Bella. I reached my arms out to her and picked her up without ever stopping. I made a beeline toward the front doors. Making my way back was hard. The maze of boxes made it hard to tell where I was going.

"Jacob, Stop! Stop! They have Paul! We can't leave. Please stop!" I wasn't going to stop. I needed Bella to be safe. My heart went out to Paul and I couldn't fight back the tears that spilled over.

_Paul, are you ok? Paul, please tell me something!_

I got nothing. My heart stopped. No! He couldn't be hurt or –

"Jacob Black let me go right now I need to help Paul. Paul's in trouble I can feel it." I could feel it too but I couldn't stop. Paul wouldn't have wanted me to stop. I kept running and she started hitting me.

"Jake, please I'm begging you! I will never forgive you if something happens to him." She cried. That was fine by me. I would rather Bella be alive and never speak to me again than to put her in harm's way.

It took a couple minutes but the door came into sight. I felt like I had been running for hours. I didn't remember it being this far away. I was no more than 20 feet away from it when I felt cold hands wrap around my throat jerking me backward and Bella falling out of my arms.

Before I knew it I was sent flying straight up toward the rafters. I hit the very top hard, shattering a skylight, and then felt myself falling. I knew I this was it. I was about to die and Bella was in the hands of my worst enemy. I've failed.


	17. Cruel Intentions

**Paul's POV**

_Paul, get your ass in here now. I've got Bella. Get those two in their graves NOW!  
_

Before Jacob could even finish his thought the pack and I burst through the door. I was the only one not in wolf form. It would be kind of hard to pick Bella up without opposable thumbs. I bolted to the left and made my way toward Jacob but not before I saw little Seth Clearwater take a bite out Edward's calf. _Go Seth!_ I thought to myself.

I made my way through the maze but I couldn't see Bella or Jacob anywhere. There were mountains of boxes everywhere. I stopped just long enough to make a decision on whether I would turn left or right down a fork in the pathway of boxes when I _felt_ her. Bella! I bolted to the left and there she was in Jacob's arms barely conscious. I have never been so grateful toward Jacob in my entire life.

The moment she saw me something stirred between us. Our eyes connected and I lost all sense of where I was. It was like I imprinted on her all over again. I rushed toward her and took her out of Jacob's arms and held her close to me. She was so scared I could feel her heart beat through my chest. She threw her arms and legs around me and began crying on my shoulder. It was heartbreaking. Bella was so scared and there was nothing I could do to ease it away. I held on tighter to her while I motioned to Jacob for us to get the hell out of here.

"I thought you were dead." She sobbed.

"No, baby, I'm right here. Shh, Jacob and I are going to get you out."

"Jacob? Oh Jacob, is he ok?" Wow, she must have really been out of it not to remember that she was just with him.

"I'm right behind you Bells. I'm ok." Said Jacob from somewhere behind me.

Somewhere off to the front of the warehouse I could hear the pack attacking the vampires and loud growls coming from both parties. I tried to pick up the pace, however before I could go any further Bella was yanked out of my arms and I was being restrained by the evil bitch.

"We told you to come alone." Spat Edward. "And you bring the dogs. Does Bella's life mean nothing at all to you?"

Damn it all to hell. Why was it so impossible for eight werewolves to kill a couple vampires? This crap is embarrassing! I panicked for Bella's sake.

"Bella! Bella run." I needed to Phase now. Apparently Victoria and Edward had a death wish and I was more than happy to grant it! I tried to maneuver a way out of Victoria's grasp but no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't. I looked over at Bella and she was still there. I willed her to move but she was frozen in shock looking from me to Jacob.

"Ohh…this one is a fighter. You're a pretty one; it's too bad that we have to kill you. We could have kept you on as our pet."

Thankfully just then the pack rounded the corner. Sam crouched beside Bella followed by Quil. Seth and Leah came towards Jake and Edward while Jared and Embry flew toward me and Victoria. Edward dropped Jacob and without looking back he ran toward Bella. He picked her up in one swift move and ran to what I hoped was the front doors. Edward was surrounded by not only Seth and Leah but he now had Quil on him as well. I saw Sam running toward me but right before he got close enough to help fight the warehouse disappeared and I was alone with Victoria in a very small, very dark room.

She pressed her lips to my ear and whispered, "It's just you and me now my pet. You, sir, broke my nail during our last confrontation and you were in my way when I was so close to killing your precious little lover. Now you will pay for making me wait longer than I already have. "And with that she threw me on the floor and crushed my chest with her foot. I tried to hold back any yells. This is what she wanted. She wanted to hear me cry out in pain. She wanted me to suffer. I wouldn't give in to her. I bit down on my lip stifling the agony I was feeling. My ribs felt dangerously close to snapping. I needed to think of something else – anything else. I needed a distraction from the thought that I was about to die at the hands of a psychopathic bloodsucker.

I closed my eyes and the first thing that popped into my mind was Bella walking out of Jacob's kitchen the morning after I imprinted on her. How beautiful and fragile she looked. I remembered the day she met me at the beach and how I told her we would only be together for an hour before I took her home and we ended up lying on the beach together until the sun came up. Then there was the time that she told me she wanted to see a scary movie and pretended to be all tough during the suspenseful parts only to bury her face in my shoulder in the end cause she was too terrified to watch. Then there was the time just before this nightmare began when she and I were about to give in to each other only to be ripped apart by these to crazy ass leeches. I remembered the silkiness of her hair, her soft lips, her smooth skin and then way it felt to have her body pressed up against mine.

What was I doing? I wasn't this person. I didn't give up. I don't let anyone push me around or bring me down – much less a vampire. I didn't want to give up on a lifetime of being with Bella. I would not let that happen. I don't know where I found the strength but I did and I lifted her foot off of my chest and threw her across the room. I took the opportunity to phase and I attacked her. The look on her face was the best part. She thought she had control – wrong. I did! I'm Paul you good for nothing murderous bitch. I say what goes. I leapt at her and clawed at her face locking my jaw on her neck and pulled. I tore out a piece of her jugular. I did it again and again and again. I scratched and clawed and bit her until there was nothing recognizable about her. She didn't even have time enough to think to transport. I took one last look at the beautiful mess I made of her and walked out the door and into a closed department store. _Thank God. _I pulled on a pair of pants and bolted out into what was now twilight. Luckily I was still on Florence Ave just one store over from the warehouse. I ran back inside the warehouse and walked straight into my worst nightmare.

Edward was standing in the middle of the room with the pack surrounding him. Jacob was lying motionless on the floor at his feet, blood coming from his mouth, while Bella's back was pressed up against his chest as he held his arm around her neck.

"One move from any of you and she will suffer the same fate as your pup." He kicked at Jacob but Jacob didn't move. It was like he was kicking a corpse. NO! Not Jacob. This couldn't be happening. I called out to Jacob in my mind.

_Jacob! Please tell me you can hear me. Please tell me something, anything. Bro I need to know you're okay. Please!?_

I waited for what seemed like decades but still got nothing back from Jake. I felt myself start to lose control. I was going to phase and I couldn't help it. _No Paul. You need to calm down for Bella's sake._ I thought to myself.

"Edward, stop it please. I'll do whatever you want I promise. I'll turn into a vampire. I'll be with you forever. Just leave them alone. Leave Jake alone. Please Edward I beg you. I beg you please!?"

"Oh so now you want to be with me and still you do it for that mangy mongrel?" I had to think. No one had seen me come in. No one knew I was here so I had the upper hand. I had to save Bella. I needed to get the rest of the pack out safely as well. I needed to get to Jake…I needed to save my best friend's body. I needed to take him back to Billy. That's what he would have wanted.


	18. It's All My Fault

Seth's POV

I was given the okay to attack and I didn't think twice. I barreled through the door and jumped right on top of Edward. He threw me off as easily as if I was a Nat on his shoulders. It didn't faze me. I came right back at him and clamped onto his leg with my teeth and ripped off a part of his calf. Take that you kidnapping bloodsucker!

I was thrown off again and this time I hit the back wall. I was a little disoriented and when I was finally able to focus in my surroundings Edward and Victoria were nowhere in sight. I whirled around expecting them to jump out at me at any second but everything was eerily silent.

Sam called us all in and communicated that we needed to split. Leah and I one way, Jared and Embry another while he and Quil took another route. In the end we didn't need to separate as we heard Paul cry out, "Bella! Bella, run."

We sprinted toward the part of the warehouse where we heard the commotion and saw Bella on the ground starring up at Paul in the arms of Victoria and Jake in the hands of Edward. I was so done with Edward I could spit. This sorry excuse for a vampire had put Bella in danger, threatened my best friends and now he had ruined my day. I jumped at him at the same time Leah did and he let go of Jake. Jake ran off somewhere behind me as I tried to snap my way at Edward's neck. I heard a yelp in the distance and turned to see that he had thrown Leah half way across the room.

NO ONE messes with my sister! I turned back around to see Quil being thrown nearly as far as Leah and without taking another second to think about it I pounced. I raked my claws across his face and took a bite out of his shoulders. It was all I could do before I too was tossed to the side.

I took a quick look around and spotted Leah.

_I'm ok. Are you ok Lil' bro?_

_Yeah, I'm fine._ I said. Sam, Jared and Embry joined us as did Quil.

_The red head has taken Paul…I…I don't know where he is. One second she was there and then…_

Sam's thought was cut off by a loud scream somewhere near the front of the building. We all took half a second to look at each other before we ran back toward the noise.

The scene before us was devastating. Jake was in the air and landed on the floor face down. In a mater of seconds his face was in a pool of his own blood.

NO!!! I made to run at him but was cut short by the alpha command given to me by Sam in that instant.

_Stop!_ Was all he said – it was enough for me to become stiff enough that I felt like a prisoner in my own body. I howled and was joined by the rest of the pack. Jacob was dead. How could this be? Jacob was my hero. He was the one in the pack that I looked up to the most. How could he be…?

All of this happened in a matter of milliseconds. All time seemed to move in slow motion. Before we knew it Edward had Bella in a choke hold and the entire warehouse went silent.

"One move from any of you and she will suffer the same fate as your pup." He kicked Jacob and I thought I would lose my mind. There was no movement from him – no grunt or moan or sigh, no breath – no nothing. Jake just laid there on the ground utterly motionless.

I wanted to die myself. How could I live with myself knowing that if I was just a little stronger I couldn't have killed Edward myself before he got to Jake? I was terrible. I didn't deserve to live If, because of me, my best friend, my mentor and hero was dead.

Bella! Jacob loved Bella. He would have wanted me to save her. I couldn't save Jake but at least I could try to save hers…and I would even if it was the last thing I ever did.


	19. Catastasis

Bella's POV

_*** Catastasis: __the part of a drama, preceding the catastrophe, in which the action is at its height; the climax of a play. ***_

_I've never tried to keep a specific person alive before, and it's much more troublesome than I would have believed. But that's probably just because it's you. Ordinary people seem to make it through the day without so many catastrophes._

_- Edward Cullen, Twilight – by Stephenie Meyer_

-------------------------------------------------------

I woke up in an exhausting daze of confusion and fear. Blood, sweat and tears filled the air. I was cold. I was in pain and I was terrified. I was on the floor that much I knew. I shut my eyes tight too scared to open them. I didn't want to know where I was or who I was with. I didn't want to see the face of the monster who had betrayed me and who was ready to kill me. I would keep my eyes closed and let death come to me when it was ready. The problem with this was that my thoughts would not let me escape.

_I was running as fast as my legs would allow. The crowds of people dressed in red surrounded me in every direction. The sun was at it's highest peak. Edward was in trouble and I had to do everything I could to help him. I could not allow him to reveal himself. I could not live without Edward. If anything happened to him it would be because of me. I pushed and pushed through throngs of people until I found a way through the mess. _

_I saw him and both fear and relief filled me with the dose of adrenaline I needed in order to save him – save my love. Two more steps and I would reach him. Two more steps and we would finally be together again. Edward!!!!_

It was a repulsive trick of the mind. As soon as his name came out of my mouth my eyes shot open and there he was. It wasn't my Edward…the Edward who went out of his way to keep me safe no matter how much of a burden I was to him. This Edward was nothing more than a monster…he was definitely the _bad guy._

"Hi." He whispered and I caught a glimpse of the Edward he was before he left me. This must be another trick. This couldn't be the old Edward. He looked…scary. I've never been afraid of him before. I couldn't speak. I couldn't move. I couldn't even blink I was so scared he would kill me.

"What? Aren't you happy to see me Bella?"

"Where's Paul?" I croaked. My throat was so dry. I wondered how long I had been out of it. His eyes changed from delight to anger in a heartbeat. A low growl escaped him.

"I thought you were with Jacob? Now you're with Paul? _Humph_. I shouldn't be so surprised; you were always the one to flit from partner to partner. It must have broken the poor pup's heart. This turned out better than I hoped." I swallowed back the comment that was burning on the tip of my tongue. I had to be careful. He could kill me at any moment. I didn't want to die. I wanted to be with Paul. He was all I could think about. I was scared for him more than I was for myself. I thought of him and how he was thrown against the door. I prayed that he was ok.

"Is he…?"

"Dead? No, Victoria decided to keep the dog alive. I think she likes him." He said more to himself than to answer my question.

I breathed out a sigh of relief and dropped my head. I couldn't hold back the tears any longer. Every inch of my body ached to be with him. He was the only one I knew who would keep me safe. No, that wasn't true. Jacob would…at least he would have if he still loved me. He didn't and the thought of that hurt more than anything. I found that I was aching for him too. Damn me! I was so screwed up. I was about to die at the hands of a vampire I almost gave my life for yet all I could think about was how I wanted to be in the arms of two werewolves. The thought made me cry harder.

Jacob was my best friend. Paul was my boyfriend…or whatever you call someone who's been imprinted on you. I wanted to be with Jake more than anything but he denied me. What choice did I have? I looked for him. I begged for him and he refused to be with me. He said that once I knew who I wanted to be with that I could come to him – I did and I wasn't wanted anymore. He chose Leah instead.

Paul was everything I needed after Jacob. He was there for me, patient with me. He found ways to make me laugh again and I slowly found myself falling for him – hard. It was the strangest thing and I attributed it all to the imprint. It had to be. He knew that I continued to love Jacob yet not a single day went by without him giving me one hundred and ten percent of himself. He loved me unconditionally and I couldn't help but accept everything he gave. We had a bond that couldn't be broken and I missed him so much. I was scared and I wanted him to be here. Scratch that – I didn't want him in danger. I definitely knew that I didn't want to be anywhere near Edward Cullen.

"Why are you doing this Edward? Please let me go. I promise I will go away. You won't ever have to see me again. I just want to go home. Please?"

"Don't you get it Bella? The last thing I want is for you to go away. I want you to be with me forever…but you won't have it…and if I turn you then you'll probably kill me so I'm just going to have to kill you…and you're little puppy Jacob."

"What? What do you mean Jacob? Is he here? Is he okay? Did you -?"

"Slow down, you're voice is starting to irritate me. No, we left a…_message_ for him. He thinks he's coming here to trade his life for yours…that is, if he still loves you enough to do that after you dumped him for Paul."

I felt all the air leave my lungs. This was worse that a punch in the stomach. My mind went blank and the worry overwhelmed me. Not Jacob. Oh, please God not Jacob. Worry was quickly replaced with rage and I threw myself at Edward.

"You ass hole how could you do this to me!? Why can't you just leave me alone?" One punch, two punches, and then three – none of them fazed him – they hurt me instead. I couldn't help myself. Why did these things always happen to me?

A door opened in the distance and slowly creaked its way closed. Edward stiffened.

"Ok, I'm here. Where the hell are you?" It was the most beautiful yet most unwelcome voice. Jacob. Edward turned to me then and whispered in my ear, almost caressing me, "I guess he does care about whether you live or die after all. Too bad I don't anymore." And he grabbed me by the throat cutting of all air.

"Oh, Eddie," Victoria's voice came from a distance. "He doesn't want to _play_."

Edward picked me up off my feet by the throat and I felt a quick gust of wind. I was going to die. This is definitely not how I imagined it.

"Looking for this?" Taunted Edward.

"Bella!" yelled Jacob.

"Ah, ah, ah. Stop right there. You move one more inch and I'll snap her neck."

I felt my lips go numb and I started to panic as the room started to spin. Black spots filled my vision. I kicked and clawed but Edwards grip on my neck was unrelenting. The last thing I remembered thinking was that I needed Jacob to leave. He could not die along with me.

"Jake…go." Was all I could get out before the world went black…yet again.

Two seconds passed by – or maybe it was two years, I wasn't sure. The blurred haze broke just slightly and I felt like I was walking on fluffy clouds. The sound of angel's calling out my name made my heart flutter.

"Bella, Bella are you ok?"

"Am I in heaven?" I asked the angel. The angel tried talking to me but all I understood was, "…middle of hell…" that was an unpleasant thought but I found that I was too tired to care to make sense of it. I felt strong warm arms wrap around my waist and within a second I was weightless.

Something wasn't right. I felt something I couldn't put my finger on, something familiar. I opened my eyes as I felt like there was something I should be looking for. The moment I opened them Paul came into view. I have never, ever felt anything like what I felt then. I had lost all control over who I was…cause I wasn't just me anymore…it's like we were the same person sharing the same beating heart. He took me into his arms and I flung myself at him wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. This was it. Paul was alive! I had been so afraid for him and he was ok. He was my safe haven. Nothing would happen to me while I was with Paul. My body would remain whole and no one could break my heart. This was protection from all bad things. I cried. I cried out of relief that he was alive, I cried out of fear, I cried because I was just so freaking tired and no one would let me sleep!

"I thought you were dead." I managed to say between sobs.

"No, baby, I'm right here. Shh, Jacob and I are going to get you out."

"Jacob? Oh, Jacob, is he ok?"

"I'm right behind you Bells. I'm ok." I looked up and sure enough there was Jacob. My heart ached. He didn't hate me after all. Here was risking his life for me all over again.

"I missed you." I mouthed. As I reached out for him he mouthed "Me too." and took my hand. The next thing I knew I was flying through the air and landed on an empty box. Dang it could this day get any worse…yes, it could and it did. I looked up and was frozen in place. Edward had Jake and Victoria had Paul. I knew I had to help them but my mind couldn't process who to go to first.

Paul yelled something but I couldn't hear. It was like I was trying to listen in on a conversation underwater. I looked from Paul to Jacob, from Jacob to Paul. I couldn't make my brain work.

Almost in slow motion I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Six huge wolves rounded the corner, two headed straight to me. Before I could make out who it was that was protecting me the same strong warm hands from before picked me and led me away. All I remembered seeing was Paul in the arms of Victoria and then vanish right along with her.

"Jacob, Stop! Stop! They have Paul! We can't leave. Please stop!" I yelled. He didn't even look at me. He just kept running.

"Jacob Black let me go right now I need to help Paul. Paul's in trouble I can feel it."

He was ignoring me! Why would he do that? Paul was hurt I just knew it. He was in pain and we were running in the complete opposite direction. I smacked Jake over and over until my fist balled into punches and I punched him. I still didn't get a response from him.

"Jake, please I'm begging you! I will never forgive you if something happens to him." And I broke down and cried as I feared for Paul's life.

Falling started to become something I was getting good at as I found myself on the ground once more. I scrambled to my feet just in time to see Edward throw Jacob up in the air. _Oh no!_ Jacob hit the ceiling which was ridiculously high, shattered the skylight and fell back down face first to the ground. I was stunned. What just happened…I couldn't accept what had just happened. This was NOT happening. Jacob! Please not Jacob. I made to run to him but was snatched up in Edward's arms. He crushed me up against him with his arms around my neck. It was then that I saw that I wasn't alone but surrounded by the entire wolf pack minus Paul. Not Paul too!

"One move from any of you and she will suffer the same fate as your pup." And then he did something so repulsive I felt ashamed of ever having loved him. He kicked Jacob's lifeless body. I felt my insides melting into unrecognizable pain. I wanted to cry and found that I couldn't. I was numb. I felt like I was watching these things happen to somebody else. I give up. I needed to get Edward away from the pack and Jacob's…body.

"Edward, stop it please. I'll do whatever you want I promise. I'll turn into a vampire. I'll be with you forever. Just leave them alone. Leave Jake alone. Please Edward I beg you. I beg you please!?"

"Oh so now you want to be with me and still you do it for that mangy mongrel?"

I thought of Jacob. I thought of Paul…they were both…gone now. It was over. I couldn't live with myself if I lived and they were…dead. I sighed and gave up completely. I was defeated. Edward had taken all love away from me. He won.

"I'll do whatever you want. Kill me if you want. Just…just please let them all go."

He was quiet for a moment before he turned me around and crushed his lips to mine. He broke it within seconds and he pulled out my arm. He bit down – hard – right below the inside of my elbow. I couldn't even scream. I was just…nothingness. I heard growls, snaps and then the world turned to fire…red hot, burning, searing excruciating fire.


	20. The Rise Of A Warrior

**Narrator POV**

Things got a little crazy from that point on. Jacob was dead, Bella was being turned into a vampire, the wolves were about to attack Edward and Paul had to find a way to get Bella out alive. Things couldn't get any worse could they? Well, it turns out that they could!

Bella had no idea what was happening around her as the venom made its way through her blood stream. The wolf pack lunged at Edward but couldn't get close enough to him to do any real damage as he continue to hold Bella in front of him as his shield.

Seth clamped onto Edward's leg bringing him down but it was all he could get in.

Paul jumped off a stack of boxes and flew directly at Bella. Being the only one in human form he was the one best suited for helping her. He punched Edward in the face repeatedly until his knuckles bled from the constant impact.

Finally after much effort Paul was able to release Edward's grip on Bella. He pulled her to the side and our story picks up here in the midst of chaos and confusion.

Paul's POV

It was all I could do to hold Bella still long enough for me to be able to see where Edward bit her. All the noise from the pack attacking the bloodsucker was nothing more than background noise as I stared at Bella feeling more helpless than ever. I needed to get her help but how? _Think, think think, Paul!_ She kicked and screamed and called out for someone to help her. It tore away at my soul and I knew what I had to do.

"I'm right here Bella, I'm going to make the pain go away."

Vampire venom kills those of my kind - werewolves. I knew that once I sucked the blood out of her it would kill me. I was ok with that. I inhaled one long deep breath and kissed Bella on the forehead for the last time.

"I love you, Bella. I always will."

And with that I brought her arm to my mouth and took out all of the poison that was making my Bella hurt. Almost instantly I felt the venom start to work its way through my body killing me slowly and painfully. I kept my eyes focused on Bella the whole time hoping that she would be ok. I would no longer be there to help her. I would no longer be there to comfort her. I was dying. If it was to save her life then I would die knowing that I did loving Bella 'til my dying breath.

**Seth's POV**

Paul managed to get Bella free from the leech's grasp. I took the opportunity to attack. He was quicker than any of us gave him credit for. He moved from one end of the room to the other ducking all of our moves. I hated this. I couldn't shake the feeling that this bloodsucker was about to get away from us again. Why was he so good at being able to out run and out fight us? I couldn't let him get away with murdering Jacob and poisoning Bella. I was going to get him and I didn't care if I had to chase him for the rest of my life!

**Leah's POV**

I couldn't help him. I couldn't do anything right. I just watched as my best friend fell to his death. Edward is going to pay. I was going to make his death a slow, drawn out painful process. He would have to feel everything I was feeling now. He would have to pay for the utter anguish that was riddled through every single cell in my body at the death of Jacob.

**Narrator POV**

Everyone was so concerned with their mission that no one noticed what was happening outside of the fight. Things were happening all around them yet they saw absolutely nothing.

Paul was dying, Bella was in serious trouble of becoming a vampire and there was something seriously unexpected about to happen.

Edward jumped up on top of one of the larger mountain of boxes thinking that he was safely out of reach of the wolves. He was definitely not counting on what happened next. Edward received a tap on his shoulders and whirled to face the person behind him. Actually, person wouldn't be the correct description. He turned to face his worst enemy - a Quileute warrior – Jacob – who stood there like an angry god ready to strike down all those who got in his way.


	21. The Last Catastrophe

Jacob's POV

_Jacob, honey wake up. It is not your time yet. You need to go back sweetheart._

_Mom, is that you?_

"_Wake up Jacob." _ Her voice faded out into a distant echo. I was alone and strangely uncomfortable.

_Mom! Come back!_ I called out to her. I formed the words but no sound came out of my mouth.

It took less than a second for me to realize that I was either dead or dying and that I had left Bella behind and in trouble. It's kind of strange that I would hear my mother's voice in the midst of a catastrophe. But it sparked something within me. She was right. I had someone I loved who was in danger and I was not about to succumb to the darkness and let death sweep over me.

I fought through a thick haze trying to bring myself back to consciousness. I stumbled over and over again. It was like being in one of those dreams where you're running but you're not moving and you realize that you are still in the same spot no matter how much faster you try to run.

"_Edward, stop it please. I'll do whatever you want I promise. I'll turn into a vampire. I'll be with you forever. Just leave them alone. Leave Jake alone. Please Edward I beg you. I beg you please!?"_

Bella? Was I hearing Bella? Edward had her? What was she saying? That made no sense.

I pushed harder and fought against what felt like a brick wall. I had to get back to her. She needed me.

"_I'll do whatever you want. Kill me if you want. Just…just please let them all go."_

No! _Bella!_ I tried to yell but I still couldn't make a sound. _Bella don't!_

Several things happened just then. I was able to open my eyes and see Edward biting Bella. The wolves shot over my head and straight onto Edward. Paul was alive and jumped at him as well. I was paralyzed. I was stuck in my own body unable move a single inch no matter how much effort I put into it. I willed myself to get up._ She needs you Jake. Get up Jake._ I repeated to myself.

A fierce burning sensation made its way from my head down to my shoulders and down my back. It was enough pain to cause me to be able to move again. The pain left as quickly as it came. What I saw shocked me. Black markings ran from the back of my fingertips all the way up my shoulder. I'm sure if I had a mirror in front of me I'd see the same styled tattoo's on my forehead as well.

I also had a strange sense of power and I didn't hesitate to get up and fight. I looked up and Edward had jumped on top of a pile of boxes. Oh hell no, we need to finish this now. I ran behind the stack of boxes – no one saw me. I jumped up all the way to the highest box where Edward stood. How I got up a good thirty feet high in a single leap I couldn't tell you. He was growling and mocking my brothers below. I heard a scream tear out of Bella's chest and I looked down to see her lifeless on the ground, Paul's head on her chest, still as a board.

If I thought I was angry before – that was nothing! He killed them. He killed the love of my life and my best friend. I tapped him on his shoulders and he turned around. To say that he was startled to see me would be an understatement.

No more games. This ended here and now. I grabbed his head with both of my hands and twisted it tearing it straight off of his body. I pulled his arms out of his sockets and ripped his torso into unrecognizable pieces of marble flesh.

"Make a fire NOW." I yelled down below as I continued to tear this ass hole apart. With each tear of his body and bones I cried out. I was in anguish. This monster killed my Bella. This monster killed Paul. I felt the tears rush down my face but I couldn't stop shredding and shredding him apart.

I felt a hand rest gently on my shoulder and looked up to see Seth with tears in his eyes as well. I looked down at the mess in front of me and let out a sob of bitter anguish. He pulled me in his arms and held me like that for a while letting me know he was my brother and it was ok to cry. I heard the rest of the pack still in wolf form come and go and I imagined that they were carrying the numerous pieces of Edward to the fire.

I broke the embrace with Seth and jumped off of the boxes and slowly made my way over to Bella. I couldn't make me feet go any faster. It's like I was torturing myself with the view of Bella and Paul there on the ground…dead.

When I finally made it to them I knelt down taking Paul in my arms first. I cried and I cried lamenting his death. I held him closer to me and apologized to him for not being the friend I could have been. I promised him I would look after his family. I promised a lifetime debt to keep them safe.

Reluctantly I laid him back down on the ground. I reached over to Bella and my heart stuttered as I touched her. I picked her up and cradled her in my arms. I leaned up against a box and sat there crying into her hair.

"I'm so sorry Bella. I wasn't there for you. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." I repeated the same thing over and over again as I rocked back and forth holding her as close to me as I could.

"I was a terrible friend. I'm sorry."

She coughed.

Was I imagining things? – I pulled her away enough for me to look down and her and she coughed again and then sat straight up. She turned to look as me.

"Jake?" she said, her voice a little raspy. I couldn't explain to you the emotions that ran through me. I can't even begin to form the words because there are no words that would correctly describe the feeling of finding out that the one person you know you were born to live for that you thought was dead was now alive.

"Yes, baby." I whispered through tears. I was afraid if I spoke too loudly it would break the spell and I would find out that I had lost my mind and that this was all some sick trick of my imagination.

She placed her hands on my face and tears cascaded down her cheek.

"You…you were…dead."

I chuckled. I was so relived that she was ok my happiness just took on a mind of its own. I starred into her big brown eyes and I knew that I would love this girl for the rest of my life. I knew that I could be everything she needed. I wasn't going to let my stupidity get in the way of me giving her all of me and I was not going to let another precious moment go by and not kiss her. I crushed my lips to hers unable to control myself. She pulled my face closer and wrapped her arms around my neck. I felt a pull in the pit of my stomach and every single inch of my new tattoos burned red hot. I deepened the kiss unwilling to let her go, unwilling to be separated from her. There was a pulse in my heart that made me catch my breath and I pulled back. Bella's eyes were staring back at me wide in surprise. I was in a trance and couldn't move.

The surprised look on her face slowly turned into a wide smile and she flung her arms around me.

"You've imprinted on me Jacob." She whispered in my ear. Was that what that was? I felt my heart beat faster and faster as I held her close and that pulse was sent through my veins again. I didn't feel any different. I already loved her with every cell in my body. Before I could say anything, however, there was an agonizing scream of pain coming from somewhere close by. Instinctively I shot straight up to my feet blocking any harm from coming at Bella. I looked around and didn't see anyone.

The scream came again and it came from just a couple feet away. It was coming from Paul.


	22. A Change of Heart

Paul's POV

Everything turned silent and peaceful. I felt like I was floating right out of my body. Something in the back of my mind didn't feel right but I couldn't pull away from the feeling that everything was going to be okay – until all of the bliss converted itself into pain.

My body began to convulse as I had lost all control over it. My blood boiled and my skin burned. My heart began beating faster and faster and it got harder and harder to breathe. I remembered then where I was and what happened. Bella! I needed to get to her. I needed to save her. Was I able to take all of the venom out of her in time?

The pain got more and more intense and I wanted to die if I wasn't dead already. Just when I thought I couldn't take a second more, the pain stopped leaving me breathless. I felt beads of cold sweat run down the side of my head. I was hot and cold all at the same time. I fought to open my eyes. I had to get to Bella but they were too heavy.

"Paul? Paul are you…okay?"

It sounded like Jacob's voice…but it couldn't be. I saw him fall. I saw him die. Did this mean I was dead too?"

"I…need…to…help…Bella…" I managed to say between gulps of air I tried to push down.

"She's fine. Paul? Paul, can you hear me?"

She's fine? No, she is not fine. She was bitten by Edward. Edward, I was going to kill him! The thought of him alive was enough to provide me with the strength to open my eyes.

Once they were open I wasn't sure if it had been a good idea or not. The whole room spun and tilted. I thought I was going to throw up. I closed them again trying to get a grip on my vertigo and opened them back up.

Two faces looked down at me but I only had eyes for one…Bella. I sat up and grabbed her holding her close to me. She was alive and that filled me with a great sense of relief.

"Bella, are you okay?"

"Yes." She said almost uncomfortably.

I pulled back to look her in the eyes but she would not look at me. Why wouldn't she look at me? Something was very wrong. I grabbed her face and made her look at me. She was crying. I wiped the tears away and kissed her mouth. There was no spark. I panicked. Whenever I kissed Bella before it was like the magical whatever it was from the imprint let me know that we were bonded…now it was like I was kissing…my sister. I pulled away quickly and looked at her more carefully. Something was seriously wrong. I let her go and she stood up to stand next to Jacob. She stood shoulder to shoulder with him and slid her hand in his. I couldn't take my eyes off of their interlocked hands. What happened? What was going on? I brought my mind to focus on what I was feeling…I felt like…like the Paul I used to be before the imprint. I looked back up and my eyes locked with Bella's. She nodded her head slightly, knowingly. The imprint was gone.

Before I had a chance to say anything Sam, Jared, Embry, Seth, Leah and Quil ran up to me asking me too many questions all at once. _Are you okay? How are you alive? Are you okay?_ It was all too much.

"SHUT UP!" I yelled silencing them all. I got to my feet and walked over to Bella standing very closer to her.

"It's over now." I whispered. "You can be with Jacob. I know that's all you ever wanted anyway."

I turned to look at Jake and was shocked to see tattoos running from his face all the way to his arms. I didn't care to ask. I was pissed. The stupid imprint might have been broken but it at least could've taken these feelings I had for Bella along with it.

He tried to tell me something but I held up my hand.

"Don't Jacob. Just…don't."

I took one last look at Bella and touched her face. She was still the most beautiful girl to me even with tussled hair, ripped clothing bruises, cuts – even when she was bleeding. She was perfect in every way and I was nothing to her anymore.

It was a biter sweet moment knowing that Bella was fine but that she would never be mine. I felt that familiar flip of the stomach when I thought I would love her forever knowing that she would choose Jacob over me. Only the last time I felt it I thought it was because of the imprint. Now, it was because I could honestly say that I love this girl of my own volition. Nothing was making me love her but she didn't want me. It didn't matter any more what I felt. I would have to live this way watching her with my best friend.

I walked away from them and out the door. I head Sam and Jacob calling out to me but I didn't stop…I couldn't stop. I couldn't bear to look at her anymore and I couldn't bear having to look at everyone while I was hurting on the inside like this.

As soon as I was out the door I ran without stopping to the woods by first beach. As soon as I got there I phased. It was dark out so I was easily hidden from anyone who might be out tonight. I came to the edge of the woods where the trees met the beach and spotted a young couple lying on the beach kissing. It was the exact same spot Bella and I used to go to at night when we wanted to be alone. The memory ate at me.

I thought about what happened today. I was alive when I shouldn't be. The venom should have killed me but it didn't. Instead it broke the imprint between Bella and I. could it be that the imprint itself saved my life. If so I would have rather stayed dead.

I stood there for hours watching the couple happy together but seeing nothing. I felt sorry for myself. I would always love a girl who was in love with someone else.


	23. Dead Kittens and Baseball

Jacob's POV

Twenty three days passed by since I've last seen Paul. He stormed out of the warehouse and hasn't been seen since. The entire pack had spent days looking for him both in human and wolf form and heard nothing from him. At first we thought that he was either too far for us to hear him or he kept himself in human form. It wasn't until a couple weeks later that I realized it was probably the strange connection he and I shared. If we could throw thoughts at each other couldn't it also be true that he could block his thoughts from us?

After day twenty two I stopped searching for him. He was okay, at least physically. I just knew it. If he wanted to be found he would come to us. I couldn't blame him for leaving. Time and time again when he had imprinted on Bella I had thoughts of leaving and never coming back. Only the hope that I might still have a chance with her one day kept me here. Paul no longer has any hope of that happening and I respect his reason for leaving.

Bella, on the other hand, was less than thrilled that he left. The day that the whole incident went down she spent the entire night looking for him even though the whole pack begged her not to. She, being as stubborn as she is, told us all where we could go (even me) and went running after him. I was in my bed waiting for her when she knocked at the door at around four in the morning. I ran to the living room and flung the door open. I had a weird sense of _déjà vu._ She looked so tired and her face tear streaked. It reminded me of the day she had run from Edward back into my life.

"I'm so sorry Bella." I said with as much emotion as I could. All it did was make her cry harder. I brought her into my arms and held her for a while before I picked her up and brought her to my room. Luckily Billy had mind enough to call Charlie again to let him know Bella would be spending the night.

She curled up next to me and cried herself to sleep that night. The next day I came to her house (while Charlie was gone so he wouldn't notice the tattoos all over my face and body) and stayed with her the whole day and night. She cried and was unwilling to speak to anyone. She missed him – a lot. The imprint might have been broken but that didn't change all that they had gone through together.

By the third day she was a little better. Her sadness turned to anger and she was determined not to let Paul's disappearance interrupt her life – or so she pretended. She made me take her out to dinner no matter how much I tried to convince her to stay and rest. She was still pretty beat up from the whole Edward/Victoria incident. She refused and said that I would be a terrible boyfriend if I denied her request for a date. That was all I needed to hear. The girl always had me wrapped around her finger. It only got worse with the imprint.

I took her out to dinner. She took three bites of her food and ran to the bathroom. She came out ten minutes later looking like hell.

"You were right Jacob. I should stay home…or at least in bed. Can I stay at your house tonight?"

I agreed to let her stay with me (as if I would say no to something like _that_).

Once we were home and in bed I held her in my arms. Neither of us slept. She didn't cry. Just talked about things she and Paul had done together. I was angry at first and then checked myself. Why should I be angry? She wasn't with him anymore and she shouldn't have to keep things like that locked up inside. It would only fester and make her bitter and angry after a while.

Within a couple weeks she was beginning to go back to her old self. She smiled a lot more often and after a while she finally asked me about my new markings.

We were watching T.V. in her living room after Charlie had left for work.

"So, are you going to tell me what all that is about?" she pointed to the markings on my forehead. I swallowed hard.

"I had a conversation with my dad, Sam and the rest of the elders of our tribe. There was only one record of one of our tribe showing markings like mine. Even then it was only a small mark not all over the face and back and arms. It was a sign of great courage. It was a sign of a warrior who fell but was brought back to life by love and need. Dad said that they brought enhanced abilities. So far I found that I can jump really high. I can hear things a lot further away and I can move things without touching them. Kind of freaky right? As if turning into a wolf wasn't weird enough."

She moved closer to me and rested her head on my shoulder.

"They fit you, you know?" She traced the intricate circle marks on the back on my hand.

"Don't you think that it's kind of obviously magical though? How do you explain it to people?"

I chuckled to myself. It was really hard and really aggravating to have to duck all the people who didn't already know I was a shape shifter.

"Well in the legends they say that they are only visible to the people who know the truth about us…who are in on the 'secret' sort of speak. The tribe is pretty hesitant to test that theory though."

She held my hand tighter and let the subject drop. She was a lot quieter nowadays and didn't press me for more information like she normally would have.

We spent the rest of the days Paul was gone just hanging out. Eventually Charlie came home early and we both panicked not knowing how he would react to my new look. He didn't say anything – he didn't mention anything different. We both sighed in relief. Charlie also didn't ask any questions about Bella's sudden change of heart with Paul. I think he secretly always wanted me to date his daughter and he wasn't going to bring up Paul if he could help it.

Things didn't get completely better but they were improving. I woke up this morning and Bella was already at my house. I heard a soft knock on the door before she opened it. I looked at the clock and it read 6:04AM. I turned back and whispered.

"Did Billy let you in?"

"No," She whispered back to me. "I let myself in." I groaned I was so tired but I sat up anyway.

"Come here Bella." She smiled and made her way into my arms. I pulled the covers over her and held her tight resting my chin on her shoulder.

"What's wrong babe?" She sighed and turned a little to look at me.

"I've been a total bastard to you. Wait – let me finish – I love you so much Jacob. I've never stopped loving you and when Paul left…it just felt like a smack in the face. I can't say that I blame him but…anyway…I know I haven't been the easiest person to be around much less date but I'm so happy you've stuck with me. Believe it or not when I'm not with you I feel empty and when I have to leave you its like having a limb cut off. I know it sounds a bit dramatic but I truly love you Jake. I'm sorry for everything I've put you through. I know its hard dating someone like me. But I'm…sorry."

She pulled me in and kissed me. I felt a spark between us and I deepened the kiss. She tasted like apples – weird but delicious. I laid her on the bed and she wrapped her arms around me. She was getting dangerously close to crossing the boundary of innocence into the point of no return. I pulled away from her trying to catch my breath and thought about baseball and dead kittens. I needed to calm down or I might take it too far with her.

"Why did you stop?" she asked breathless. I looked down at her and raised my eyebrow.

"You know good and well why I stopped Bells."

"Please come back." She begged as she batted her beautiful long eyelashes at me.

"Bella…"

"Please Jake?"

"No. I can't promise that I'll keep my hands to myself."

"And…?"

"Bella!"

"Jake you think I haven't thought of you that way for like…ever!? I want…this."

"No, Bella." I turned around and sat at the edge of the bed my head in my hands. _Dead kittens…baseball…dead kittens…Bella wearing the almost see through shirt…no!_

I felt her move on my bed and then put her hands around my waist and her head on my back. She moved her hands up my chest. I wasn't wearing a shirt and the feel of her hands on my bare skin sent a warmth all through my body. I stood up suddenly. Bella looked up at me shocked that I turned her down again. Little did she _know_.

I pushed her back on the bed and slowly crawled up on top of her. I let my hands wander. My heart stuttered and I was only able to take short shallow breaths. I kissed her from her stomach up to her neck and then ravaged her mouth. I picked her up without breaking the kiss and set her down in the middle of the bed. I kissed her neck down to her shoulders. She put her hands on my face and brought me back up to her lips. My hands found their way under her shirt. She rolled over on top of me and lifted her shirt over her head. _Holy crap. _I thought to myself. I put my arms on her waist and brought her back down. We didn't come back up for air until hours later.

It was the best morning of my life.


	24. Dreamwalker

Bella's POV

_***A __dream walker__ is one who works with and within the dream to understand, to create, to heal, to meet with elder-hearts, to journey this realm (out of body), to work with other worlds and realms, to teach, … to be one with the ultimate ONE.***_

I woke up in Jacob's arms at around three in the afternoon and it was only because Billy called out from the living room that he was going out for the rest of the day. Jacob of course didn't hear it and continued sleeping. He looked so peaceful laying there next to me. I couldn't blame him for being so tired, we did have a pretty… active morning. I've never felt so full of love in my life. I was scared out of my mind but it was what I wanted for a long time now and I'm glad that it happened. It was better than I could have ever imagined. No wonder why people always talked about it.

I reached up a little and kissed his cheek. Funny how that woke him up but nothing else would. He smiled with his eyes still closed.

"Hey," he whispered sleepily. "How are you feeling?" I answered him with a kiss. He wrapped his arms around me, leaning into me and kissed me harder. I thought I was going to pass out from happiness. He broke the kiss and looked at me.

"That good huh?" he smirked at me and kissed my forehead. "I love you Bells."

I smiled at him and I wondered why my heart hadn't burst out of my chest already.

"I love you too, Jake. Please kiss me." He didn't hesitate. He brought his lips down to mine and kissed me softly and slowly. It was like slow, blissful torture. I reached up and put my hands on his beautiful face bringing him as close to me as the laws of nature allowed. I slid my hands into his hair as he slid his hand above my waist, under my shirt...or I should say under_ his_ shirt.

He groaned quietly and I thought I was going to lose my mind. We rolled around in the bed seemingly unable to get close enough to each other until we got tangled up in the covers. I tried to pull back the cover but fell off of the bed instead, landing on my butt. That totally killed my buzz. I looked up to see Jacob trying really hard not to laugh.

"Go ahead. You're going to burst a blood vessel or something."

And he laughed so hard he almost cried. I crossed my arms and pouted as I sat on the floor.

"Go ahead…I've got all day. Just let me know when you're done."

"Awe baby," he said trying to stifle the laughter. "Come here, I'm sorry." He got out of the bed and picked me up off the floor. His touch sent a shiver through my body.

"Are you cold Bella?" he asked, all trace of humor now gone from his voice. He's so cute when he gets all protective and concerned.

"No…it was just…oh, nothing, never mind." He laid me back on the bed and brought the covers over me.

"Rest, Bells. I'm gonna make you some breakfast." He looked over at the clock. "Ok, scratch that. I'm gonna make you a very late lunch." He bent over and kissed my lips gently before he walked out the door.

I took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. Maybe if I took enough deep breaths it would calm my rapidly increasing beating heart. It didn't, but it did have me drifting off into sleep.

'_Bella?' my name came out of the darkness like an echo. I looked around and I was in unfamiliar woods at night with the moon as the only source of light. _

'_Bella, can you hear me?' it was Paul. I whirled around and I was still alone. I took a couple of hesitant steps forward._

'_Paul? Is that you?' I whispered in the dark. I was scared and I was cold. 'Paul, where are you? We've been looking for you! I'm so pissed at you I could kick your ass Paul! Why did you leave me?' my voice crept up until I was yelling into the darkness. I heard a twig snap behind me and I turned around in fear. _

_Paul was standing there in a pair of warn out jeans and a white t-shirt barefoot. He looked…ruggedly beautiful. I ran towards him and he smiled. I stopped just before I ran into him and punched him in the stomach._

'_I was so worried about you! I looked for you! I cried for you! Why did you leave me? I'm sorry – I'm sorry that it didn't work out between us. I'm sorry that I couldn't be everything you wanted from me, but you are still supposed to be my friend AND YOU LEFT ME!'_

_I broke down but couldn't cry and he just stood there, his eyes more sad than I had ever seen them._

'_I miss you Bella.' He said simply. 'But I can't come back. There is nothing left for me in La Push. There is nothing left to me in Forks.' He took both of my hands in one of his. They were so big and warm my hands got lost in them. He put his other hand on my face and made me look at him. _

'_I love you…and it's not because of the stupid imprint. You asked me once if you thought that we would be together if it wasn't for the imprint. Do you want my answer Bella? I'd say yes, but that's not counting the fact that you now belong to Jacob. Things could have been different but somehow the world has decided to torture me for the rest of my life. I'm being punished and I don't know why. I live you and breathe you Isabella Swann. And it's because I love you more than anything else. I love you; no one is making me love you. Do you understand?'_

_I nodded my head and felt tears streak down my cheek. I hadn't realized that I was crying. He gathered me in his arms and rested his chin on my head. I heard his heart beating and I could feel my own heart breaking. Paul, no matter what had happened, was still my friend and seeing the pain I put him through hurt me almost as bad as it hurt him. _

_I stepped out of his arms and took his hands. I looked up at him. _

"_Please come back home, Paul. We can work through this. I can't live with what I've done to you, but I at least want a chance to try and make it up somehow.'_

_He scoffed. 'Bella, don't you get it? I don't want to be your friend. I want more from you, I always will and if you ever hear me say any different it would be a lie. I can't bear to see you with Jacob. I love him too. He's like a brother to me and that's what is adding salt to the wound. I know you're happy with him. I know he is what you've always wanted and I know that he can take care of you. But I'm selfish and want you all to myself. I'm never coming back home Bella. You were my home. I've got nothing else.'_

_He bent down and brushed his lips with mine. When I looked up he was gone._

'_No! Paul! Come back! Paul please, I'm sorry! Come back!'_

I felt someone shaking me. I fought them off. I had to get to Paul. He couldn't leave. The shaking got worse.

"Bella! Bella, wake up! Bella, it was just a dream!" I opened my eyes and Jacob was standing over me with his hands on my shoulders. I tried to blink back the tears but I couldn't. They spilled over. Once the flood gates were opened there was no stopping them. He kneeled on the bed and picked me up into his arms.

"Shhh, Bella. I know you miss him. I'm sorry, I wish there was a way I could make it better." he rocked me back and forth and I cried onto his bare chest.

"He was there, Jacob." I managed to say between sobs. "He was there and it was real. He came to me Jake. He can walk in my dreams. He said…he said that he wasn't coming back." And the tears just kept on coming.

"I miss him Jake. He was such a good friend to me."

"I know, Bells. I miss him too. I miss him a lot."


	25. Uh Oh!

Bella's POV

Charlie was starting to get a little weirded out with me spending so much time with Jacob. He especially was uncomfortable with the whole spending the night deal.

"He's my boyfriend dad. Do you really want to know the details of our relationship?" I snapped after the thousandth time of him asking me how serious Jacob and I were taking our 'relationship'.

"Bella, I just worry about you. You're my little girl. I love Jake but I'm not opposed to killing him if he goes too far. I don't want his hands wandering."

"Too late dad, my hands wandered first." I stormed out of the living room without waiting for him to respond.

"WHAT?" he yelled and ran after me up the stairs. I got to my room before he made it to the landing.

"I'm eighteen, dad…how old were _you_?" and I slammed the door in his face.

I called Jake immediately. I hadn't seen him in a week and I didn't know what was going on. Sam and the pack were trailing a vampire who was getting too close to the area. When Jacob first told me I panicked. He was able to calm me down after a while.

"Really, Bella, don't you think a third insane vampire coming after you would just be ridiculous?" I smiled at him and let the subject drop. The problem is that it had me on edge, hence the word vomit with Charlie.

I was done with vampires. It was bad enough that Alice kept calling and leaving me messages asking to forgive her and her family for putting me through everything that happened.

Sam had to tell the Cullen's the whole story and they weren't too happy about it at first. That is, until I called Alice and told her everything in detail. I also told her I never wanted to see any of them again – ever. So hearing about a rouge vampire roaming forks was just too much considering all that has happened.

Jacob would kill me for telling Charlie about us but I was just so sick and tired of being treated like a kid. Just last week I decided to move out. I needed to be on my own…and I wanted to be with Jake. Needless to say it didn't go over so well with Charlie. The vein in his neck about burst but I held my ground.

"Where are you going to get the money?" he asked thinking that this minor detail would deter me from leaving.

"Well, Phil landed the team. He got a signing bonus and he gave it to me for being so cool for coming here and allowing mom to travel with him. I should be set for, oh I don't know, four years…maybe five." His jaw dropped to the floor and that was the end of that conversation.

The phone rang for the tenth time and led me to Jake's voicemail.

"This is Jake. Leave a message…if you're Bella, I'll call you back as soon as possible babe." BEEP.

"Hey, Jake. Um…don't come to my house today…I accidentally let slip to Charlie that we…um…you know…anyway, Jake I was wondering if I could meet you somewhere. I don't know how much longer I can take not seeing you. Hope you're ok, babe. Love you." And I hung up with my heart aching for him and my mind worried, wondering if he was ok.

I sat on my bed starring at my phone absentmindedly. Every now and then when I was alone and tired I thought of all the crap I have gone through…and all of them had to do because I had fallen for the wrong guys. I've been so stupid thinking I could live without Jake even if it was for a second. Now, I hated myself for ever loving Edward and I despised myself for hurting Paul. And again I found myself thinking of Paul. I wondered where he was and if he was ok. No one has heard from him and I was finally able to go to sleep without expecting him to join me in my dreams. I had to accept the fact that I would never see him again. The thought of that hurt more than I would admit to anyone.

The phone buzzed and it startled me back to the present. I flipped it open without looking at the caller ID.

"Jake?"

"No, Bella, its Alice." I groaned internally. This is JUST what I needed.

"Alice, I don't want to be rude but…what the HELL do you want from me?"

"Bella, that's not fair! I didn't do those things to you."

"Save your breath Alice! How could you guys who have lived with him for more years than I can count not see that side of him? Actually, you know what? I don't care. I'm hanging up now Alice."

"Bella! If you hang up the phone I swear to you I will show up at your house and I will not leave. Do you understand me?"

"Bite me." And I snapped the phone shut. Just when I thought my night couldn't get any worse.

Stupid little evil pixie! Who the heck does she think she is? The phone buzzed again and I flipped it over irritated.

"WHAT?!"

"Bella? Is everything ok?" it was Jacob. Crap, I almost forgot I called him.

"It is now that you're on the phone." I said much calmer.

"Are you sure? Is someone bothering you?" He said worriedly.

"No! No, Jake. Really, I'm fine. It's just, well it doesn't matter. I want to see you and I'm not going to take no for an answer. Please tell me where to meet you."

"I'm outside your house Hun." I stood silent for a second. Well, that was convenient.

"Bella, you there?"

"Oh, um...yeah I'll be right out."

I ran down the stairs and out the door straight into Jacob's waiting arms. He held me so tight I was worried for a second that he would crack a rib or two. I wasn't going to complain. I have been dying locked up in my room waiting for him to be 'off duty' so that I could do exactly this. I stepped out of his arms for half a second and looked up at him.

"I missed you." He brought his lips down to mine. "Not more than I've missed you, Bella." He whispered against my lips.

"Come on. Let's go before Charlie kills me for deflowering his daughter." I chuckled. He opened the door for me and closed it once I got in. As soon as he got in the driver side he reached over with his right hand and held mine.

"I can't believe you told him. You better enjoy tonight cause I may not live to see the morning."

"Well I didn't mean to tell him I was just so pissed I couldn't control the things that were coming out of my mouth." He lifted my hand to meet his lips and gently kissed the back of my hand.

"No more stressing out ok? You're staying with me tonight and we're going to shut off the cell phones. I'm completely done with my tracking shift so it's just you and me tonight ok?"

I smiled and sighed in relief. He always knew just what to do and say to make me feel much better.

"You're perfect, you know that right?" he looked over at me and the darkness made his eyes look smoldering. He winked at me and it took every ounce of self control not to jump over to his side of the car.

When we got to his house it was completely empty.

"Where's your dad?"

"He went to go visit my sister. He won't be back for three days."

I looked up at him and a smile slowly spread across my face. He took two slow steps toward me filling the gap between us.

"What do you want to do?" he asked. I blushed. I was so nervous. He knew exactly what I wanted.

"Oh, you know, just-" but before I could finish his mouth was on mine and I was lifted up off the ground and taken to his room.

It started much like it did the first time only this now I felt an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. _Ugh! Come on! Not now!_

I pushed Jacob back.

"What? What's wrong?" he said concerned.

"I don't feel so good." I grabbed onto my stomach trying to will the ache to go away.

He pulled back from me and felt my forehead.

"You don't have a fever." I groaned.

"I think I need some water." I sat up on the bed and rested my head between my knees. The room was starting to spin. I felt Jake leave and come back in a hurry. He handed me a cold glass of water but before I could bring it to my lips I felt like I was going to throw up. I covered my mouth and ran out the bedroom door straight to the bathroom. I barely got there in time before I emptied out my stomach contents. Jake was right beside me the whole time holding back my hair. _This was just so romantic._ I internally rolled my eyes.

After about ten minutes or so I felt much better and I brushed my teeth. It's a good Idea I forgot mine here last time.

"Come on, let's get you to bed." I let him pick me up and lay me down on the bed.

"I'm sorry Jake, I don't know what happened." He didn't respond. He just looked at me with a strange look on his face.

"What?" I asked, confused.

He raised his eyebrow at me and pushed back the hair around my face.

"Have you been feeling sick for a long time?"

"No." He nodded his head his mind a million miles away.

"Bella…when was the last time you…you know…got…it…"

Oh my God! I know what he was getting at. I sat straight up. I thought about it for a second and felt my heart drop to my stomach. I whipped my head toward Jacob, my eyes wide.

"You don't think…that…no, it can't be."

"Bells…"

"Jake I can't be pregnant!" I yelled. I clasped my hands to my mouth and plopped myself back onto the pillow.

We stood there silent for a long time neither of us knowing what to say.

"I love you Bella…and I'm here with you every step of the way no matter what." He said as he placed his hand on my stomach.

I felt the hot tears run down the side of my face on to the bed covers.


	26. I love you too little one

**Bella's POV**

This is the dress I will be referring to in this story.

.com/main/images/oscar_

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I starred up Jake's ceiling counting the cracks in an effort not to freak out on what could possibly be a total disaster. It wasn't long before my eyelids grew heavy and my mind drifted off into sleep.

_The white ceiling changed into a canopy of large, wide bright green leaves. The coolness of the small room changed into hot, humid uncomfortable air. I took in the rest of my surroundings and I was no longer in Jakes comfortable bed, but in a thick bed of leaves and straw. _

_Wherever I was it was peaceful. It was absolutely quiet except for some far away chirping of birds, monkeys and rain drops. I must be in a jungle, I thought to myself, or maybe a rainforest. _

_I sat up slowly and the leaves under me sunk with the pressure. I looked down at myself and I was wearing a light yellow and brown sun dress and I was barefoot. This was strange._

_I stood up and searched around the small area of enclosed trees. _

"_Hello?" I called out. My voice echoed and it sounded like there were twenty of me._

"_Is there anyone out there?" I said quieter this time._

"_Hi Bella." The voice came from directly behind me. I jumped, startled, and whirled around. It was Paul._

_I was so happy to see him I did the first thing I could think of. I jumped in his arms and wrapped my arms and legs around him and held on tight. He didn't miss a beat and held me tight against him._

_I breathed him in and he smelled like the Paul I remembered, leather and pine trees. He moved his hands from my back and tangled them in my hair as I rested my head on his shoulders. Neither of us said anything for what seemed like an eternity. Finally the light began to fade into twilight and Paul spoke._

"_How did you find me?" He whispered._

"_I fell asleep," I said into his shoulder. "And I ended up here."_

"_There's something you're not telling me Bella. What's wrong?" I shook my head. I didn't want to talk. I wanted to escape._

"_Bella!" He kneeled down and sat me on the bed of leaves. He grabbed my face and made me look at him._

"_What happened? What are you not telling me?" I shook my head again. I couldn't say it. I didn't want to say it._

"_Please?" he pleaded. I looked up and his eyes were turning glassy. I was hurting him again. Why couldn't I control myself? Why was I always causing him so much pain? _

_I placed my hands on top of his and lowered them from my face down to my stomach keeping my eyes on his face the whole time. His eyes followed our hands and his face told me he was confused when I didn't move them from my stomach. His head snapped up not a minute later and his eyes were wide in surprise. His hands were back on my face and he pulled me in and crushed his lips to mine. _

_In the back of my mind I knew I shouldn't be kissing him back but I did anyway. He was too familiar. He was too…Paul._

_He pulled back suddenly his face turning from happiness into a mixture of anger and fear._

"_Wait. Is it-?" I nodded my head before he could continue. His face lit up again and he pulled me into his arms._

"_Bella, when did you find out?" tears were falling from his eyes and the smile never left his face._

"_Well, to be honest, I don't know for sure…but I think I am." I reached out and wiped a tear off his cheek. He grabbed my hand before I could pull it back and he kissed my palm and then brought it to his heart._

"_Does Jake know?" I dropped my head and shifted my weight uncomfortably. _

"_He thinks it's his…and I guess it could be…but…I don't know why the first thought in my head was 'its Paul's' when I should have thought 'It's Jakes'." He let my hand go and stood up and walked toward one of the nearby trees. He leaned up against it as he ran his fingers through his hair. He was agitated. He turned around slowly and without warning he punched the tree causing a big chunk to be splintered off._

"_Why do I always have to compete with JACOB?!" he yelled at the tree. I flinched. He turned to face me and took three long strides and then knelt in front of me._

"_Stay here…with me." He grabbed my hands and held them to his chest. _

"_You know I can't do that…and anyway…I don't even know where 'here' is."_

"'_Here' is wherever you want it to be." And just like that we were no longer in a rainforest but in a very huge Victorian mansion. Before I had enough time to take everything in our surroundings changed again. This time we were in my room sitting on the floor by my computer._

"_You see Bella. Anything you want, I can give to you."_

_I stood up and touched the bed and trailed my fingers along the footboard. I walked over to my computer and turned it on. It was all so real._

"_How are you doing this?" I asked. I hadn't realized that he was right behind me so I jumped a little when he put his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder._

"_The bloodsucker was a mind reader right? My theory, when I sucked the venom out of you it stayed in me and it…changed me. I have a sort of power of the mind…so far I can only get to you…and it's only in your dreams. I also can alter where I am."_

"_Wait, Paul where exactly are you?" he turned me around to face him and rested his forehead on mine. _

"_Closer than you think, Bella." I opened my mouth to get some form of a straight answer out of him but he cut me short with a kiss._

"_I love you Bella. When you're ready to be with me, you'll find me." He put his hands on my stomach then knelt down and kissed it. "I love you too little one." _

_He looked up at me, his brown eyes searing mine. I blinked and I was back on Jake's bed staring up at the cracks in the ceiling._


	27. What Things May Come

**Paul's POV**

Letting Bella go a second time was much harder than it was before. This time I could see in her eyes that I hadn't lost her completely. I knew without a doubt that although she loved Jacob she also loved me. Whether she could admit it to herself or not, I don't know. What I do know is that I was given hope where I had no hope before. I just needed to show Bella why she wanted to be with me. Why she needed to be with me. After all, she was the one who came to _me_ this time. _She_ found _me_.

When everything happened, the imprint and the dating, I wondered if I was bound to her only by whatever magical force that caused one to imprint. I figured that even though I _knew_ I loved her, if something were to break that magic, the love would fade. I feared that more than anything. When it happened, when the imprint broke, the only difference I felt was that I was no longer chained to her. The cuffs were taken off and I was free to go if I wanted, but I didn't want to go. I wanted to be by her side. I might have been magically free, but my heart belonged to her and no break in an imprint could ever take that away from her. I loved her quite possibly more than before.

Now to hear that she may be pregnant…well…I never thought I would be so happy to know that I was going to become a father. I wanted this.

Sure, hearing that it could also be Jacob's…it pissed me off. No, it more than pissed me off. I wanted to rip his throat out…I hated that he…I despised the fact that he touched her. He took my Bella away in the most powerful of ways. That was something only she and I shared and now not anymore.

I was also furious with Bella. How could she chose Jake time and time again? What does he have that I can't give her? I'm older, I'm stronger, and I love her more than my own life. She is my…everything. Why can't I be hers too?

My anger started to get the best of me and my surroundings changed from one place to another. If I didn't calm down and slow everything I was sure to throw up. I felt like I was in a room changing tilt-o-wheel.

I sat on the ground covering my face with my hands. I took several deep calming breaths and slowly my nerves began to calm. I looked up and I was standing outside an unfamiliar house. It was a large white house with a wraparound porch and floor to ceiling windows.

"_Bella, Hurry! He's making a mess all over the kitchen." came a dainty voice from inside the house. I ran up the stairs and opened the door and was taken aback by what I saw._

_Two male vampires were sitting on a white couch watching a football game on a huge flat screen TV while two female vampires chased a little human toddler around the couch. Instinctively I made to protect the human child from the vampires. However, before I could take my second step I heard the most beautiful voice floating down from the stairs._

"_Honey, you better listen to your aunts Rose and Alice or daddy is going to come home and he won't take you out for ice cream if he finds out that you are not behaving."_

_I was frozen in place by the sight of her. Her curly hair was cut short just below the ears. Her smile was bright with happiness. She wore a sapphire blue dress with yellow flowers that made her porcelain skin seem so radiant. I wanted to walk over and touch her. I wanted to hold her and never let her go but I was paralyzed as was usually the case when I was with Bella. She had a way to make act like a total moron. _

_She got down to the final step and the little boy ran up to her and hugged her leg. She picked him up and kissed his cheek._

"_Mommy, when's daddy gonna get home?" She smiled her bright smile at him. That was her son. That was my son. I hurried over by her side and stared at the little boy, my 'little one'. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. His eyes and his cheeks were Bella's but everything else was mine. This was my baby. I ached to touch him but I didn't dare. Instead I gawked at him like a fool._

"_Soon, baby, soon." She said and before the last word was out of her mouth the doorbell rang. _

"_Bella! Your honey is home" said the dark haired vamp on the couch._

"_Emmett, seriously can you just get the door my hands are kind of full."_

"_Can't. Football." Bella rolled her eyes and walked over to the door. My heart did a little flip. Who the hell was going to be at the door?_

_She opened it and OF COURSE it was Jacob._

"_Daddy!" squealed the little boy. I fought with every screaming thought that shot through my mind. Jacob; his daddy? No! He's MY son!_

_Jacob kissed Bella and then took my son out of her hands._

"_Hey, buddy! How's my little man doing?" YOUR little man?! _

_He flung his arms around Jacob as Jacob rubbed his back and took Bella's hand._

"_Auntie Rose told me that I couldn't touch the knives in the kitchen and Auntie Alice said that OshKosh B'Gosh had nothing on Prada. Daddy, what's a Prada?" Jake rolled his eyes and yelled out toward the kitchen._

"_You've corrupted my son Alice."_

"_A little fashion never hurt anybody." She said as she walked into the living room._

"_But that's just the problem with you Alice," said the blonde on the couch. "There is no 'little' fashion with you." – They all laughed. Everyone looked so happy. Bella was with Jake. They had a son._

The scene continued to play out before me but I couldn't watch. What the hell was going on? What the hell was this? Was I looking at my worst nightmare? Was the stress of being away from Bella causing my new 'abilities' to freak out on me like this? Or, could it be that I was watching the future? A future where I played no part in Bella's life, a future that had Jacob marrying Bella and him raising MY son. Cause he COULDN'T be the father. Jacob could _not_ take that away from me. That little boy had MY face. He looked like me and NOTHING like Jake.

I felt hot tears sting my eyes. This couldn't be the future. I refuse to let this be the future. I was determined to show Bella how much she truly loved me and I sure as hell would not let another man raise my son.

I gathered all of my energy and changed the scene before me. I was in Jacob's room. Bella was laying on his bed holding on to her stomach and looking up at the ceiling. Jacob was on the other side of her pushing the hair out of her face. I walked up to the edge of the bed and got as close to her face as I could get. Tears were falling from her eyes. My heart ached for her. I couldn't comfort her and from the looks of it neither could Jacob.

I reached out and touched her face. Her eyes widened and she placed her hand on mine. She could feel me but she couldn't see me.

"I'm right here with you Bella. I will never leave your side. I will find my way back to you again."

The tears streamed down the side of her face quicker now. I knew that she could hear me.

"I love you, Bella. Don't you _ever_ forget that." She bit her bottom lip and nodded her head just slightly.

I reached down and placed my hand on her belly.

"I won't ever leave you either, Ciqala, my Little One."

With that, I changed my surroundings back to the comfort of my own personal rainforest.

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Ciqala is a Dakota Native American name which means Little One. From what I can gather it's pronounced SICK-AH-LA


	28. ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR

**Bella's POV**

_ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR -- The rules of fair play do not apply in love and war. If you love someone and they hurt you it's fair (at least in some persons view) to have a war "fight". There's a thin line between love and hate, same with love & war, love & hate, loneliness "if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with" etc...Many times relationships have their up and down roller coaster rides._

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I sat up and attempted to compose myself. What the hell is wrong with me? Could I possibly be in love with two guys at the same time? Yes, I was. Shit.

I took several calming breaths but it didn't help calm me one bit! I turned to look at Jacob and he looked so sad. I felt like such a bitch. I couldn't seem to stop hurting all the people I loved most in the world.

"Jacob," I started to say but was cut off.

"Bella, you don't have to say anything. It's okay, I'm here for you." He reached out to hug me but I pushed his hands away. The sad look on his face turned to sad _and_ concerned.

"I don't deserve you Jacob, I'm…so screwed up…I don't know how I feel about anything. I…have to tell you something and I know you're going to be so pissed off and I don't want to hurt you and it's why I didn't tell you in the first place but I can't hold it in anymore – not now that I may be…well, you know…and I want to ask you to forgive me but I'd be lying if I said I was sorry, cause, it was when you left me - "

"Bella," he said as he took my hands. "Spit it out, you're freaking me out." I looked up at him and my heart sunk down to my ankles.

"You weren't…my first."

He looked at me for a long time without saying anything. He just starred. I was starting to get uncomfortable.

"Jake, I-" he dropped my hands.

"Stop, Bella!" He yelled. "You mean that you and Paul…" he let his sentence trail off. He stood up and walked to the door.

"Jacob, please." He stooped suddenly and turned to look at me.

"Do you have any idea how happy I was to hear that you would be having our baby? _Our_ baby, Bella. I felt like I was on cloud nine…scared out of my mind but happy. Now, you tell me this? It isn't my baby is it Bella?"

I looked down at my hands and let the tears fall.

"I didn't think so." He turned the knob on the door and opened it.

"Jake!" I yelled after him but he kept going. I shot out of the bed and ran after him into the living room. He was going to leave the house. I ducked in front of him blocking his way from the door.

"You left me!" I yelled. "You were too scared to stand up to Paul! You were too defeated to take me even though both me _and_ Paul told you that I wanted to be with you. That I loved you! I came to you like you told me to. I had decided ages ago that it was you who I wanted to be with but you weren't there! You were never there! And now you want to get pissed at me for something that happened while you were gone?! You know who you remind me of? Edward! You are NO better than him Jacob Black!" I smacked him on the chest. It hurt but I refused to let him see it. "You pretend to love me and then you go and pull one of these stunts. I am still your girl friend…a pregnant one at that and you're just going to leave me, again! Well you know what Jacob, not anymore. I'm not going to let this happen to me again. I'm leaving YOU!" and with that I opened the door and stormed out. I didn't even bother to close the door behind me. I took three steps outside and the rain began.

"I HATE THIS STUPID TOWN!" I yelled out at the sky. I trudge through the mud slipping and tripping the whole way down the block away from Jacob's house. Stupid Jacob! He has every reason to be mad at me for not being able to choose between him and Paul but he has no right to be angry at me for what I did while he was nowhere to be found.

After the hundredth time of me slipping into the mud I gave up and just sat there. I wrapped my arms around my stomach.

"I'm so sorry I'm putting you through all of this, baby. I guess I'm a bad friend, girl friend and now I'm a bad mother." I cried and held a little pity party for myself. I sat there for maybe ten minutes when a car pulled up next to me.

"Bella, is that you?" I looked up but it was so dark and I couldn't see through all of the rain and tears. I ignored whoever it was and put my head back in my hands. I heard a car door open and light flooded through my fingers but I refused to look up.

"Oh my God, Bella, what are you doing on the ground? Come on let me get you out of the rain." I didn't know who it was but the voice sounded awfully familiar. I felt strong warm hands pick me up and then I felt myself being laid on warm leather seats.

"Where is Jacob? He said he was going to be with you. Is everything okay?" I didn't answer. Hearing Jacob's name only made my heart hurt more. I wasn't crying anymore – just silent.

"Bella, please, tell me what happened." The pain in the person's voice snapped me out of my pity and I opened my eyes to see Jared looking back at me. I groaned. This was just what I needed, another wolf.

"Oh, you know…doing great, couldn't be any better." I said sarcastically.

"Bella, I'm taking you to Jacob's house."

"No!" I snapped. "Don't. Please."

"Well I'm not going to take you home at this hour looking like that, so you're going to Jacob's."

I tried to get out of the car but he pushed me back in closing the door. Before I could get back up to opened it he was in the driver seat and punched the child safety locks.

"You're going to Jacob's." he said the finality of it seeping through his voice.

"Shit."

We pulled up to Jacob's house and I stood in the back seat with my arms crossed. Jared didn't attempt to let me out. He left me in the car and walked up to the door. Jacob opened it and from the looks of it he expected it to be me. The scowl on his face told me so. Pfftt, as if!

I couldn't hear what they were saying, the rain was so loud, but I saw Jared point to the car and Jake look over and then turn back to Jared and yell something. His hands were in the air. It looked like they were arguing. I took that as a hint. I guess imprint or not, Jacob wasn't interested in seeing me anymore. I hopped over the arm rest and into the driver seat. I would have to apologize to Jared for dirtying his seats later. I unlocked the door and got out while I still could. I ran and didn't look back. I ran and ran. I thought I had gotten away when I heard someone calling my name. I ignored it and kept running. I didn't need anyone. I didn't need to hurt anyone anymore; I didn't need to see disappointed faces. I didn't need anyone to love me. I just needed me…and now my baby.

"Bella, stop! Bella! Wait up. Come on!" I bolted only to have strong arms wrap around me. It was such a sudden stop that I fell down, but the arms never let go. I twisted and turned but they were unrelenting.

"Let. Me. Go!" I yelled as I tried to smack away the hands that held me captive.

"Bella, please, I'm sorry. I'm stupid ok? I'm a fucking idiot. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." The hold on me got tighter and I felt a face rest against my back.

"You're right…about everything. Please, Bella. Please forgive me." It was Jacob. He was breathing heavily. Tough shit. I pried his arms off of me and stood up.

"You have every right to be pissed Jake!" I yelled at him. "But not because of this!" I wrapped my arms around my belly.

"He's innocent! He doesn't deserve anyone getting upset because he's here!"

He looked up at me his eyes pleading.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. I didn't hear him say it but it wasn't hard to read his lips.

"I don't want to lose you Bella. I fought so hard to be with you. It's all I ever wanted." He dropped his head and fiddled with his soaking wet shirt.

I didn't know what to say. What was there to say? I felt bad. I can't imagine what all this must feel like from his point of view. I wanted to comfort him but I was the one who caused him to be like this.

I knelt down in front of him.

"I love you Jacob but I'm not going to lie to you. I love Paul too. I don't know how I got myself in this mess but you need to know this. I'm sorry that I'm such a messed up person who can't figure out her feelings. But this is who I am. This is what's going on. I can understand if you don't want to be with me…" I didn't get to finish. Jacob grabbed my face and kissed me – hard. I froze. What the hell was going on? It didn't take long for me not to give a damn. I wrapped my arms around him and we fell to the ground.

The kissing grew more passionate, more needy. We rolled around in the mud unable to get enough of each other.

"Wait stop! Jacob, we can't do this…here." He kissed me harder.

"Yes we can." He said never taking his lips off of mine. He ripped off his shirt and tore at mine. _Well, ok._ His hands trailed down the side of my body and unbuttoned my jeans. No, no, no this couldn't happen, this was wrong. I pushed at his chest.

"No!" he backed off. "No, I'm sorry. Not like this." He was panting.

"You're right. You're right, I'm sorry. Come on let me take you back to my house."

"Okay." I said. He took my hand and bumped his shoulder playfully at mine.

"Sorry about your shirt." I blushed looking down at myself. My bra was showing…wow. I tried to cover it up but there was no saving it.

He put my arm around his shoulders and cradled me effectively blocking my exposed body from anyone who might have passed by. I dug my head into his shoulder and sighed. How could he still want me after all of this? I don't get it.

We got back to his place and he set me down on the floor.

"You can take a shower if you'd like." He said shyly.

I hated that he was acting so shy around me. It not like he hasn't seen me naked before.

"Will you join me?" his head shot up and if it was possible his face got even redder.

"No, Bella, I shouldn't…"

"Shut up Jake." I said taking his hand leading him to the bathroom.

I shut the door behind us and walked over to the shower and turned on the hot water. I turned to look at him. I tried my hardest not to blush or get too nervous. It was a small bathroom so there was little room for the both of us. He leaned up against the sink and I stood by the shower. Neither of said a word, we didn't need to.

The hormones flowing off of us bounced around the walls. Slowly I ripped the remains of my shirt and threw it at him. He caught it before it hit his face then smiled mischievously. He dropped the shirt , took a step toward me, rested his hands on my hips and pressed me up against him. I slowly trailed my fingers from his collar bone down to the top of his jeans and easily unbuttoned them. He moved his hands from my hips up to my ribs then reached up behind me unsnapping my bra with on twist of his fingers. I gasped as he did. The room was starting to fill up with steam and Jacob's chest gleamed with the moisture of it.

I didn't take long for us to remove the rest of our encumbrances then I pulled him into the steaming hot water. We stayed in there until all of the hot water ran out and then took it to his bedroom. We were still at it when the sun came up.


	29. Pieces of Me

**Paul's POV**

I haven't dreamt in weeks. Ever since my abilities took over I would randomly be swallowed up in other people's nightmares…never dreams as if I were actually living them out. Tonight was a different story altogether. Tonight I dreamt of my baby boy, my beautiful, precious Ciqala.

_I was lying in Bed with Bella at my side peacefully asleep when I heard a scream from the baby monitor. Bella instantly woke up and pulled back the covers in an automatic reflex to comfort our son._

"_No, honey, go back to bed. I got it this time." She smiled and mumbled a 'thanks' before lying her head back down on the pillow. I gave her a quick kiss but she was already back asleep. _

_I pulled the covers back over her and got out of bed and raced over to his room. I quietly pushed the door open and he was sitting up in bed with his favorite wolf stuffed animal clutched to his chest. The tears were streaming down his cheeks. I felt my heart contract at the sight of my poor baby in so much fear. The moment he saw me he stood up on the bed with his arms stretched out towards me and he cried harder. I picked him up and held him as close to me as I could without crushing him._

"_What's wrong Baby?" I asked trying to keep the worry out of my voice but I'm not so sure I did such a good job. He was my heart and soul and whenever something scared him I felt like I needed to do anything – no matter what it was to keep my baby safe from it. _

"_There's a monster in my closet." He sniffled and practically had a death grip around my neck. I didn't mind one bit. _

"_I'm going to go check it out, do you want to come with me or stay in the bed?" He instantly let go of me, plopped down on the bed and pulled the covers over his head. It was so darn cute I couldn't help but smile._

_I took out the little Elmo flashlight we kept by his bed and pointed it at his closet. I walked up to it and he cried._

"_Daddy no, it might get you!" He was genuinely scared. "Don't worry baby, if there's anything in there daddy will get it for you."_

_I opened the closet door and checked inside. Once I saw that there were indeed no monsters in the closet I turned to my little one._

"_You see Ciqala, there's nothing in here." He slowly pulled down the covers from his face._

"_Are you sure?" he asked still a little scared._

"_Do you want to come and see." He shook his head vigorously. I smiled at him and walked over to the bed. I tucked him back in and kissed his forehead._

"_Good night baby."_

"'_Night daddy." He closed his little eyes and drifted off into sleep almost instantly. I stood there a little longer just to look at him. He was three years old with thick black hair and long eyelashes. He had Bella's eyes and cheekbones with my skin color. He had my face, my mouth and ears and his hands were like mine only in miniature. He had Bella's heart and my temper when he didn't get his way. He was absolutely perfect in every way._

_I finally managed to pull myself away and go back to bed. I walked into my room and my heart did a little summersault at the sight of Bella curled up under the white sheets, her beautiful short, curly hair spread across the pillow. I crawled into bed careful not to wake her up and got as close to her as I could. I wrapped an arm around her waist and buried my face in her hair. It smelled like grapefruit soap. I was peaceful, I was happy – I did not want to wake up._

But, of course, I did. I stood there lying on the ground looking up at the night sky as was my usual routine when I was awakened in the middle of the night. I wanted this to be real so bad. I want the life that was shown to me. Bella and my son…MY son. I loved the sound of it. I said it over and over again and I could never wipe the cheesy smile off of my face. Would Bella allow me back in her life? Would she allow me to love her? Could she admit that she loved me too? I wanted to go back to her now, but I couldn't. Bella was the kind of girl who shuts down when too many things are thrown at her all at once. If I went to her now she would be even more confused. I needed to let her come to me but the wait was excruciating, especially now that I knew about her and Jacob being so…involved with each other. The thought of it sent me into a fit of rage and I almost couldn't control my shaking. I refused to Phase. I did not want anyone to know where I was. I wasn't sure that I wanted to be a part of the pack anymore; I don't think I could handle it.

I knew I should stay away from Bella's mind but I couldn't help it. I had to go visit her. I needed to see her. I closed my eyes and focused on the image of her face. I opened my eyes and she was in Jacob's room…again. She was sleeping in his arms and it broke my heart. Her eyes fluttered open just then and she looked over in my direction but I knew she couldn't see me because she wasn't looking at me.

"Can you hear me Bella?" I whispered. She nodded her head.

"I miss you." I whispered again. She bit her bottom lip and nodded her head again.

"How is he?" I asked. She arched an eyebrow and looked over at Jacob who was still fast asleep. She edged her way out of his arm and pulled back the covers and headed toward the living room. She stopped in the middle of the room.

"How is it that I can hear you but can't see you?" she whispered.

"I…don't know. But I'm here…I want you to come with me."

"I'm with Jake, Paul. I'm not leaving him." I felt like someone was burying me alive. I was suffocating.

"Do you love him?"

"Yes! Of course I do!"

"Do you love me?" she stood quiet and didn't answer.

"I said, do you love me?"

"Where are you?" she reached out a hand and I grabbed it. She gave out a little gasp and squeezed. My heart was hurting being this close to her yet so far. I wanted more than anything for her to be with me. I shut my eyes trying to compose myself and when I opened them she was starring right at me – not through me but at me.

"Yes." I was so shocked that I didn't know what she was saying.

"Yes, what, Bella?"

"I love you too, Paul." My breath caught in my throat at these words and I pulled her hand and wrapped my arms around her.

"Come away with me." She shook her head in my chest.

"I'm with Jake." I pulled her away at shoulders length.

"Then, be with me!"

"I can't."

"Why not Bella? Can you honestly say that you don't want to?"

"I want to!" she whispered furiously looking around the room making sure no one heard us.

"It doesn't bother you that I've given myself to Jacob?"

"Of course it does. I want you all to myself but I'm never going to hold that against you. You're with him, of course those…things happen. I just don't want them to happen if I can prevent it."

"Doesn't it bother you that I love him too?"

"Bella," I grabbed her hands. "I'd be a fool to think that I could ever make you stop loving Jacob. But I would be a fool to love you and not tell you. I would be a fool to let you to continue to be with him and not give you the chance to be with me. You and me Bella, we're about to have a family whether or not you decided to be with me." I reached down and touched her stomach.

"I want to be your best friend. I want to be your confidant. I want to be your lover; I want to be your man." I grabbed her hand and led her out the door.

"Where are we going?" I didn't answer her with words. I changed our surroundings to First Beach where our relationship began. She gasped and smiled.

I knelt down in front of her and looked up into her big brown eyes.

"Isabella Swan, will you marry me?" she covered her mouth and blinked… like a thousand times. I think she was trying to wake up. I didn't want to do this to her. I just wanted to see her face and here I was proposing to her. What the hell was I doing to her? But I couldn't help it. I want her in my life and I wanted her to be my wife more than anything.

When she didn't say anything for four minutes I began to get nervous.

"Say something Bella."

"I don't want to say no." she whispered barely audible.

"Then don't. Be with me Bella. I promise to keep you happy for the rest of our lives. I promise to be a good husband and father. I promise to keep our family safe and taken care of. I will support you and love you forever Bella. What do you say? Will you marry me?"

She shook her head slowly.

"No. I…can't." I felt like I had died a million deaths. I stood up and cupped her face in my hands. I felt the stinging in my eyes and forced the traitorous tears back down. I would not let her see me like that.

"I love you Bella. You don't mean that. I know you don't. I know you want to be with me. I know you're saying no because you feel like you have to, for Jacob's sake, but I know it's me you want to be with. I know you feel like you made a commitment to Jake that you can't break, but remember this, my love. Who was the one who imprinted on you first? Fate has a way of bringing people together and you and I would still be together if that leech hadn't harmed you. Jacob may have imprinted on you and he may love you with everything he has but your heart…it's attached to me and you know it." She cried. I know she knew I was right but she wouldn't say it out loud.

"Please think about it Bella. My offer will stand forever. Marry me." I changed our surroundings back to Jake's living room. She looked at me one last time before she turned and walk back to Jacob's room. I reached out and grabbed her arm before she got too far and I kissed her. I tried to put all of the love I felt for her in that kiss and I know she felt it. She placed her hands on my face and cried into the kiss.

She broke it and looked at me again still not taking her hands off of my face. She pulled me in and kissed my forehead and then gently kissed my lips again.

"I love you." She mouthed and then walked away and disappeared into the hall way taking a piece of me with her.


	30. The Prodigal Son

**Paul's POV**

After Bella left I decided that if I wanted to be with her I would need to come back home. I would need to face my pack, and my pack leader. If I wanted to be the husband I wanted to be for Bella I needed to fess up and be a man and face the music with them first. I needed to come back home and tell my parents that I was okay. I needed to find my own place and most of all I needed to be there for Bella and for my son.

It took me a week to finally find the courage to leave the woods just outside of Canada, but I did. When I got to La Push I went straight to Sam's house. I got there at around eight at night and knocked on his door. Leah answered.

"You son of a Bitch!" she yelled as she smacked me in the face – hard. She threw her arms around my neck right after and cried.

"I thought you were dead you jackass!" I hugged her back and felt like such a jerk. I never wanted anyone to fear for me, but apparently that's exactly what I did. I looked up, Leah still in my arms, and saw Quil, Embry, Jared and Seth come to the door. They all looked at me as if I were something disgusting on the bottom of their shoe.

Leah let go and I took a step inside. I stuffed my hands in my pockets. I was so nervous I didn't know what to say or do.

"Hey, guys." I said timidly. No one said a word, they all just stared.

"Where were you?" asked Embry angrily.

"Canada. I needed to… get away."

"You didn't need to do anything. You were just a coward." Spat Quil. That pissed me off.

"You ever had your imprint broken Quil?" His glare softened.

"Yeah, I didn't think so." I turned to face them all. "You all have every right to be angry with me. But until you've walked in my shoes don't judge me!"

"There was a brief moment of silence and then I heard a voice come from behind them."

"He's right guys. Welcome your brother back home." It was Sam with Jacob right behind him. I wanted to strangle Jake but decided against it. Neither of us asked for this situation. He's in it as bad as I am.

The rest of the pack smiled and joked and hugged me. Sam shook my hand and then Jake stood in front of me.

"Stay away from Bella and we should be fine." The room that just seconds ago was filled with booming laughter was now so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"I came back for my son and to make Bella my wife." The pack murmured amongst themselves. Apparently they knew nothing about any of this. Interesting. Jake started shaking uncontrollably.

"How do you know about the baby?" Jake said between clenched teeth, his hands balled up into fists at his sides. "And what the hell do you mean about making Bella your wife?"

"Well, she obviously hasn't told you that we've…had a couple chats with each other. I know about everything Jacob. She hasn't hidden anything from _me_." If it was possible, he got even angrier.

"You will NOT GO NEAR HER!" he yelled and lunged himself at me. Sam held him back before he got too close.

"She's mine Paul! Go back to wherever you were. We were just fine without you!" he was struggling to get out of Sam's arms but Sam was too strong for him.

"I can see that." I said calmly. I turned to the rest of the pack and bowed my head slightly. "I'm sorry guys; I guess I should be leaving now.

"Paul, don't you go anywhere." Demanded Sam. I turned to look at him.

"I'm going to see Bella, Sam. I'll be back later." With that I walked out the door, Jake still yelling like a mad man only this time Sam's voice joined him. His commands didn't work on me so well anymore. I think I kinda like this new ability.

I was going to go to Bella's house but thought that maybe seeing my parents was the right thing to do first. They didn't live too far away from Sam's place and it only took a five minute run to get there. I opened the door and let myself in. My mom and dad were sitting on the couch watching that lame Casablanca movie. I rolled my eyes. The TV was so loud they didn't hear me come in. I grabbed the control from the side table and turned the TV off. They looked at each other and then around the room until their eyes found me. My mother jumped up and ran over to me. She was definitely a sight for sore eyes. She cried as I hugged her tight.

"I'm sorry mom. I didn't mean to make you worry. I would never want to hurt you mom." She shook her head.

"I know baby, I know why you left. I just wish you could have called me." I broke the hug and kissed her cheek.

"I'm sorry mom, I didn't exactly think of taking my cell phone." She cupped my face and covered it with wet kisses.

"Moooommm" I teased.

"Oh shush, at least let me love my baby boy. Adam, come here and give your son a hug."

My dad walked over to me and gave me his 'You are so dead meat' look.

"Dad I'm-"

"Shut up Paul." He said in his husky voice and hugged me. "You had us worried son, if you're going to have another emotional breakdown leave a note or something, ok?"

I laughed and patted his back. "Ok, noted."

They both smiled at me and I felt like the luckiest guy in the world to have parents like them.

"Come in the kitchen, you look like you haven't eaten in days."

"Actually mom I can't stay long, I have to go see Bella." Both of my parents had concerned looks on their faces.

"Mom, dad, Bella is pregnant and the baby is mine. I love her and I don't care who the hell imprinted on her, I love her and I've come back to get her. I know you may think I'm crazy and please don't tell me that I screwed up with getting her pregnant cause I'm not sorry she is." I took a deep breath in before I continued. Every time I thought about our baby I got happy, nervous Goosebumps. "I am so happy that I'm going to be a father. I'm…ecstatic." They both had shocked expressions on their face but recovered quickly and congratulated me. I stayed with them for about a half hour explaining to them that I was going to use the money I saved up from fixing cars at the auto shop I used to work for to buy a house. My father then said that he would furnish the house for me and that he wanted me to be the manager at the custom car auto shop that he owned in Port Angeles. I was so overwhelmingly happy that they were being so supportive I couldn't help but tear up. I truly had the best parents on the planet.

After several hugs and kisses from my mother I left the house feeling on top of the world. I got to Bella's house close to nine o'clock and felt extremely nervous. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"I'll be right there, dad." I heard Bella call out from the other side of the door. A couple seconds later she flung it open. She stood there in shock with a cell phone in her hand.

"Um…mom, I'm gonna have to call you back." She didn't wait for a response and snapped it shut and placed it in her back pocket. She looked like a deer in headlights and her mouth was slightly open.

"Hello, Bella." I said after an awkward couple of minutes of silence. She closed her eyes and then opened them.

"I'm still here." I said playfully. A very slow smiled spread across her face and she walked up to me. Her face was just inches from mine.

"You came." She whispered.

"I did." I whispered back.

"Why?" she wasn't looking at my eyes, she was looking at my mouth. She wanted me to kiss her…but I wouldn't.

"I'm not giving up on you Bella. I love you too much. I know what it feels like to know that I've lost you once. I'm not going to go down that road again without a fight." She bit her bottom lip and nodded her head still not looking away from my mouth.

"So, you came back _for me_?" I smiled. Sometimes I thought this girl lived on another planet. Of course I came back for her!

She was standing so close to me now that I could feel her breath on my face.

"Yes, I came back for you…and for him." That got her attention. She looked down, held her stomach and then looked back up.

"Him?" I nodded.

"Yes," I said, that cheesy ass smile coming back to my face. "I've seen him, he's beautiful Bella."

I don't think I've ever seen her smile that brightly before. I wanted to touch her but I didn't, I wanted to kiss her, but I didn't. I've stolen too much of her. I wouldn't do that again while she was still with Jacob. If I ever did that again, she would have to be the one to decide.

"Your…powers…they showed you our son?" Our son, she said our son. Only her choosing me could make me happier right now. I couldn't talk. I just nodded.

"Do you…know his name?" I shook my head.

"I don't know…but I call him Ciqala. It means Little One." A tear spilled over and down her cheek. I quickly wiped it away. She grabbed my hand before I could take it away.

"Then that will be his name." I felt my heart slam against my chest. I was at a loss for words. I just stood there smiling like an idiot.

"I love you Bella." Was all I could say.

"I love you too, Paul." And she took one small step and wrapped her arms around my waist and rested her head on my chest. I couldn't move for a moment. This was more than I expected. I managed to snap out of my stupidity and hugged her back.

"Where do we go from here?" she asked, her voice muffled against my chest. I shrugged.

"Nowhere. You're with Jacob, babe. I can only offer you a choice." She sighed heavily.

"I spoke to my parents. I told them that I'm buying a house. My dad offered me a job as manager at his auto shop. I can give you all of my love Bella. I can put a roof over your head and food on the table. I can take care of you and Ciqala. I can be the husband you want and the father Ciqala needs. But I'm not going to force you. It's your choice. It has always been your choice. If you want to be with Jake…I'll hate that. But I will respect that. I will still be here for you. I will still help you raise our son. I will never stop loving you. Ever." I kissed the top of her head and stepped out of the hug to look at her. I sighed. She was so beautiful even with her face streaked with tears.

She gulped and took another step back breaking all physical contact.

"I haven't told Charlie yet. I wanted to tell him soon. Will you be there with me while I break the news to him?"

"Of course I will. I'll bring a bullet proof vest." She laughed and smacked my shoulder.

"I can't promise you he won't strangle you but I'll try to protect you." She said still smiling.

"When do you want to do this?" She bit her lip again and arched her eyebrow.

"Today?" I smiled but my heart fell to my ankles. I would be strong for her, if it meant doing something I REALLY didn't want to.

"Sure." She smiled in relief and took my hand and led me into the house.

We sat on the couch close to each other and she told me everything that has happened while I was away. She told me everything, and I mean _everything_ her and Jacob have done. She said that she was tired of keeping secrets and not having anyone to tell. She told me that she loves him and that she doesn't want to leave him but that she cannot deny the fact that she loves me any longer. She confessed that she's thought about the proposal over and over again but can't seem to make a decision.

I held her hands in mine as she unloaded all of her emotional burdens. A lot of it was hard to swallow but did it for her sake. I would do anything for her.

It was ten thirty when we heard a key in the door.

Bella freaked out.

"Oh my God, Oh my God I can't do this Paul." She whispered anxiously.

"Bella." I said more confident than I felt. "I'm right here. I will not leave your side. If you need to squeeze my hand, do it. You are not alone, ok?"

Then the door opened and Charlie walked in and spotted me right away. He paused mid-step but regained himself.

"Well, hey there Paul. Haven't seen you around here in a while."

"Hello, Mr. Swan." Charlie sat in his Lazy Boy recliner.

"I've told you a million times, call me Charlie."

I nodded my head. I couldn't seem to be able to swallow.

"Um, dad, I have something that I need to tell you." Bella started as she gripped my hand.

"What's up Bells?" there was an uncertain toned lined in his voice. _Crap, crap, crap._

"Um…ok, so…I'm just going to go ahead and say it. I know you're going to freak out, but really dad I wish you wouldn't cause it would break my heart and -"

"You're pregnant." Charlie interrupted her. Bella's face blanched but she didn't say a word. Charlie's eyes went from Bella's face to mine.

"…and you're the father." He finished. I nodded, again unable to find my voice. We all stood there in an awkward silence. I was just about to give the whole, 'I'm always going to be there for her and I love her' speech when I was interrupted

"That's not all dad." Said Bella, surprising us both. We both snapped our heads in her direction.

"We're…getting married." My jaw dropped and Charlie stood up. We both said, "What?!" at the same time. Of course I said it surprised and Charlie said it furious.

Oh, shit. Now I really had some explaining to do.


	31. Forever

**Bella's POV**

I turned to face Paul who had a ridiculously happy smile on his face. I grabbed both of his hands and placed them on my lap.

"I can't pretend anymore. I don't want to live my life with one person while, all the while, I'm thinking of another. When you imprinted on me I was terrified and I didn't want to be with you, but I gave you a chance and it was amazing. I was scared once I realized that I loved you cause I felt that maybe it wasn't real. Maybe the stupid imprint was all that tied you to me and I really hated that, Paul. When it broke I felt free from you. I thought, _oh good, now I can go back to Jacob and not feel guilty_. I was wrong. That very same day I ran from Jacob. I ran after you. Even though I felt that forceful pull gone, it was replaced with something else – a need to be with you. I ached for you. I went to the beach searching for you, but then I saw a happy couple in the same spot you and I used to go to. I thought I was looking at the past. So I went home to Jacob, back to the new imprint. Jacob was comfort. He is familiarity, and I love him. I really do love him. But it cannot even come close to what I feel for you. And you were right when you proposed. I did feel like I owed it to Jake to be with him. But I would be lying all the time if I stayed with him.

"Finding out that I was pregnant…there are no words. But I went to the doctor this morning. It's for sure that it's yours. I'm too far along for it to be Jakes. When I found out I felt relieved. I shouldn't feel that way if I truly loved Jake like I'm supposed to. I have no idea what I'm going to tell him, but I…I love you. And…if your offer still stands I would like to apologize to you, first, for hurting you like I did. I can never forgive myself for that, but I'm willing to spend the rest of my life with you showing you that I'm sorry, showing you that I love you more than I ever knew I could love a single person."

Paul's eyes were glassy with tears. I knew that if he started crying so would I.

Just a couple minutes ago I was undecided on what path to choose, but when I looked as Paul sitting there like a superhero being brave for the both of us, I knew. When I held on to his hand for dear life as I was breaking the news to Charlie and he squeezed back, I knew. This was the man I loved. This was the man I wanted to be with. Once I allowed myself to accept that I felt a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders. And I'm happy I told Paul. I think I shocked everyone into silence cause neither he or Charlie said a word.

I looked down my courage slowly fading away. Maybe Paul changed his mind. Would he do that? Has he realized that he could do way better than me and decided that he no longer wanted to be with me?

"I wish you would say something." I whispered.

He swallowed and then placed a hand on the side of my face and pushed back a strand of hair.

"You're positive you want to be with me?" looking into his eyes, seeing all of the love and honesty, there was no doubt in my mind.

"Yes." I said simply.

He looked over at my dad. "Charlie, I know this is kind of all too much information at one time, but do I have your blessing to marry your daughter?"

"You know, Paul. I always wanted what was best for my daughter. To be completely honest with you, I thought that Jake was what was best for her. I was sadly mistaken. I have never heard her speak so passionately about anyone, even that Cullen kid. But I see the way she looks at you and I see the sincerity in my little girls eyes when she told you everything she did. It reminds me of Renee and I. True love, it comes only once. I will not be the cause of my little girl's unhappiness. If being with you makes Bella happy, then you absolutely have my blessing."

I beamed at my dad. "I love you Daddy." He nodded his head and turned his attention back to Paul.

"You treat my Bella right and you and I will always get along."

"Yes, sir." Said Paul the smile still etched across his face.

"Then I'll give you two some time to talk about this. I'll be upstairs if you need me." And with that he was gone.

"So, you and me, we're together again?"

"Forever." I confirmed.

"Forever." He echoed.

He picked me up off the couch as easily as if I were a rag doll and walked me up the stairs. When we got to my room he sat me on the bed. He pulled back the bed covers and he sat down on the bed, his back against the head board.

"C'mere" he said with the blanket wrapped around him, opened waiting for me. I crawled into his arms and he wrapped it around us.

"You've made me the happiest man on the planet, Bella Swan."

"Soon to be Bella Koda." He hugged me tighter.

"You're taking my last name?"

"Of course I am."

"So, Isabella and Ciqala Koda? I like the sound of that."

"Me too, babe. Me too."

We stood there like that, me in his arms, wrapped in a blanket, almost sweating between his body heat and the blanket heat, but it was the most peaceful I have felt in a very long time.

I fell asleep in his arms and I didn't dream, I didn't stir.

I woke up sometime in the middle of the night and he was still there with me. It wasn't all a dream. Him being here, it was all real. He must have sensed that I was awake because he woke too.

"You're still here." I whispered.

"Forever." He said sleepily.

"Forever." I whispered back. And we both fell peacefully asleep in each other's arms.


	32. Transition

**Paul's POV**

I knew I was awake but I didn't want to open my eyes. Instead I kept them closed for a second longer reveling in this feeling. I was afraid that everything had been nothing more than another dream and if I did open them I would find myself lying on a bed of leaves in the middle of my own personal nowhere.

I counted to three and found the courage to face reality. I opened them and faced Bella. I sighed with happiness.

She was asleep and so peaceful looking. She mumbled something and then moved to rest her head on my chest. Was it possible to be any happier than I was now? I ran my fingers through her hair and stared at her for about a half hour before her eyes fluttered open. At first she looked shocked and then relieved. It seems we shared the same fear of waking up to find the other had gone.

"Good morning beautiful." She smiled and moved closer to me.

"Hi." She said her voice still a little raspy from sleep. I reached down and grabbed her hand interlocking my fingers with hers as I brought it to my mouth and kissed it before bringing it to my heart.

"Sleep well, Bella?" she nodded her head. I kissed her forehead.

"I need to go home soon. I have a lot to take care of now that I'm back."

She groaned.

"No. Don't go. Please? I just got you back."

"I'm not _leaving_ you, Bella." I chuckled. "I just need to go change and deal with Sam and…Jake."

She stiffened in my arms. "Maybe I should talk to him first."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea Bella."

"No, Paul, I _need_ to do this. He shouldn't have to hear it from you. It needs to be me."

I thought about it for a while and tried to place myself in Jacob's shoes. _I_ would want to hear it from her.

"Okay." I agreed. "But please let me take you there. It's going to be hard for you too and I don't think it would be safe for you to drive back on your own."

"That sounds-" but she didn't finish. She clasped her hands to her mouth and threw back the covers and ran out of the room. What the heck just happened?

I ran after her and found her in the bathroom. Ahh, morning sickness. I rushed over to her and held her hair and wiped the sweat off the side of her face. Once it seemed to have passed I got her a glass of water.

"Ugh, baby, you're killing your mommy." She joked after she had brushed her teeth and come back in the room. She sat at the edge of the bed with me and rested her head on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Paul. It's like that almost every morning and sometimes randomly in the afternoon. I think he hates me."

I laughed at her and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"You're incredibly wrong. He loves you very much."

"How do you know this? – Oh right, you saw him. I wish I could see him too."

"You will, my love…and soon." I stood taking her hands in mine bringing her up with me. I wrapped them around my waist and looked down at her.

"I have my cell so I'll call you once I leave Sam's. Maybe you should call Jacob." She bit her lip.

"Yeah. I guess I should."

I bent down and gave her a gentle kiss. It sent shivers through my whole body. _God, I love this girl_.

"I'll miss you." I said sincerely wishing that I didn't have to go. She surprised me by jumping in my arms and wrapping her legs around my waist and laying one on me. I caught her quickly and didn't hesitate to wrap my arms around her.

We had done this a million times before but every time always felt like the first. I think this is where she felt the most loved and safe, when she clung to me like this. It made me feel like she trusted me and loved me…and lusted for me. I didn't object.

When she finally freed my lips she confirmed what I thought.

"I wish you could hold me like this all the time. I feel like nothing can touch me and no one can love me more."

I looked up into her big brown eyes with those long lashes and felt my breath catch in my throat.

"That's because nothing _can _touch you and _no one_ can loveyou more than _I_."

"Do you have to go? We could just stay here."

"Yes, I don't want to but I do. Maybe later we can start looking for our new house. What do you think?"

She smiled her beautiful bright smile and nodded her head.

"Ok, then that's what we'll do. But I really do have to go now." She slid to the floor and I grabbed her hand and walked down stairs and outside to my bike. I grabbed my helmet and slid on my leather Jacket.

"You know we're going to have to get a new car. There's no way we can bring the baby home on a motorcycle."

"Hey, hey ,hey, be nice to her. She's sensitive." I joked, she rolled her eyes.

"I _do_ have a car, Bella. I'll pick you up in the baby safe mom-o-bile later on okay?" She laughed and smacked my arm playfully. She grabbed the collar of my jacket and brought me down to her level.

"You come back to me, you hear?" She said it jokingly but there was a hint of fear behind her words.

"Hey, do you think I would leave you and Ciqala? I would never leave you. I promise." I tried to put as much conviction behind my words. I didn't want Bella thinking I was going to up and leave her.

"You promise?" I gathered her in my arms and held her tight.

"As long as you want me here Bella then yes, I will never leave."

I gave her one more kiss and put on my helmet. I pushed up the visor.

"I'll be back soon."

"I love you,"

"I love _you_." I shut the visor, got on my bike and headed to Sam's.

When I finally got there I got an earful. _That was so irresponsible of you Paul. How could you abandon us? What were you thinking? We were worried! We thought we lost you. _

After he got everything off his chest he hugged me and said that he was glad I was back. Honestly, I was glad to be back, and I told him so.

"So can you explain to me what this whole Jake and Bella issue is?"

"In a nutshell? Bella's pregnant, I'm the father, she loves me and we're getting married. Jacob doesn't know and Bella is probably talking to him and letting him know as we speak. If I make it through the night alive then it will probably be at the expense of losing my best friend."

Sam's mouth was literally hanging open.

"Yeah, I know, it's crazy. Sam I'm sorry that I left but I needed to leave. I couldn't watch Bella be with Jake. When the imprint broke it was worse emotionally than it was physically."

"I get it Paul. If I ever lost mine – I can't imagine what it would be like if someone else imprinted on Emily. But if anyone understands about losing someone you love without a choice, it's me…and Leah." I nodded my head.

"Well anyway, I love Jake but I don't think it will ever be the same again. And if I need to leave the pack for there to be peace, I'm fine with that. My main concern now is my wife and son."

"I never thought I'd see the day that my hot headed Beta would turn into a love sick puppy." I laughed and shook my head.

"Sam, you're one to talk." I stood up and we shook hands and then thought better of it and hugged. I really did have faithful brothers.

We said our goodbyes and I headed for my parents house. My mom greeted me the same way she did last night and insisted that I sit down and wait for her to finish making me breakfast. I told her that I would jump in the shower.

Once out, I put on my dark faded jeans, a black sweater and black shoes. I grabbed my grey peat coat and checkered grey and black scarf and placed a pair of sunglasses on my head.

I walked out into the kitchen and my stomach growled. Mom had a feast ready. There were stacks of pancakes, bacon, eggs and hash browns. There was a pitcher of orange juice and sweet tea.

"Mom, what is going on here? Me and dad can't eat all of this."

"I'm sure that won't be a problem. "Chimed in my dad as he took his seat at the table.

He was right. We really did some damage and my mom loved it.

When I had finished helping my mom load the dishwasher there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." I said drying my hands with a towel.

I opened the door and Jacob grabbed me by the front of the shirt and pulled me out of the house slamming the door and pushing me up against it.

"I can't believe you fucking did that! You were supposed to be my friend Paul! You were supposed to be my brother AND YOU TOOK HER AWAY FROM ME!"

"Jacob!"

"SHUT UP! I don't want to hear your voice. I don't want to see your face. I don't want to hear your name. I don't want to know you exist. Go ahead and marry the only girl I ever loved. Go ahead and raise the son that should have been mine. But if you EVER hurt Bella I swear to GOD I will kill you, and it will be a slow and painful death. I will enjoy every second of your suffering and it will never come close to what I am feeling now." And with that he slammed me against the door again and walked away.

"Jacob, STOP!" he ignored me. "Jake I said STOP." Once the words were out of my mouth it was like an invisible rope had shot from my mouth binding Jacob to the spot. He slowly turned around and I swear the tattoos on his face and arms got darker.

"What the hell did you just do to me?"

"I asked you to stop."

"Well it worked cause I CAN'T MOVE!"

"What?"

"I said I CAN'T MOVE! Let me go!"

"I don't even know what I did Jacob!"

"Well whatever it was you need to undo it so I can just hurry up and kill you now!"

I crossed my arms and stared at him for a second.

"No, you're going to stand there and listen to me. I don't want to lose my best friend. But I'm going to need you to understand something. Bella is going to be my wife. I will be her husband. And like I told her before, I would be a fool to think that I could ever keep her from loving you but I also gave her an option. She chose me Jake. She's having my child. We're going to be a family and that is something that you need to accept. The sooner you do, the sooner all of us can move on. The sooner you can be part of this family too. I will not deny you your imprint Jacob. You are to be what she needs you to be. Not what you want to be for her. So, when you've come to terms with all of this then we can talk again."

I turned away and walked back toward the house.

"Paul! Wait." I turned to face him.

"Do you love her? Like, do you really love her?"

"Yes." I stated simply. There was no denying my feelings for her.

"OK." Was all he said. I turned again and walked into the house. My parents were looking out the window watching the whole thing and were busted when I walked in the door. I looked at them with a 'what the heck are you doing' look.

"What?" said my dad, "it's like a reality TV show out there, and we weren't missing it." I rolled my eyes and grabbed my coat and put on my shades. I grabbed the keys to the Jeep Cherokee and left the house.

This day just gets weirder and weirder.

I called Bella the moment I got in the car and she was hysterical. She told me that Jake called her before she could call him and demanded to know what was going on. She told him everything and he basically told her to have a nice life. I gave her a quick rundown of our confrontation and told her that I was five minutes out.

When I got to her house she was sitting on the front steps. I parked the car and almost tripped over the sidewalk in my hurry to get to her. I didn't stop until I had her in my arms. She didn't cry but she was shaking with nerves. I rubbed her back trying to calm her, I tried to say the right things but nothing worked. I feared for her and for the baby. All this stress would be hard on both of them. And then it came to me. Our baby. I closed my eyes and held on to Bella tight.

I brought her back into the last dream I had of Ciqala, of him on the bed sleeping.

"Open your eyes Bella." She obeyed and sucked in a gulp of air. She knew who she was looking at immediately. Tears spilled over her cheeks and she made no attempt to wipe them. She walked over to him and sat on the edge of his bed and ran her fingers through his hair and touched his face with the back of her fingers. And then something totally unexpected happened. He woke up.

"Mommy?" he said sleepily.

"Yes baby?" responded Bella with a catch in her throat.

"Daddy said there were no monsters in the closet. Is that true?" I walked over and stood behind Bella. This was taking my breath away. I was finding it very hard to breathe.

"There are no monsters in the closet. I promise you." He sat up in bed and leaned over to her and wrapped his arms around her neck. She was frozen for a second but recovered quickly and held him tight.

"Mommy, why do you look different?" Bella looked up at me and I had no idea what to say. Was I in a vision, dream? Or was I literally in the future?

"Mommy is just tired little man. Why don't you go to bed and let mommy get some rest."

He nodded and gave Bella a kiss and plopped back down on the bed. Bella stood up and tucked him in and kissed his forehead. My heart swelled at the sight of it. She was a natural.

"Good night Ciqala."

"G'night mommy. G'night daddy." I pulled Bella away from him and closed my eyes and thought of her room. When I opened them we had 'arrived'.

She looked up at me. "He looks just like you. He's…"

"Perfect." I finished for her.

"Yes." She said simply. And that's when she broke. She cried and cried but it they weren't sad tears. They were overwhelming tears…of happiness.

* * *

Koda – Dakota Native American surname which means "Friend"

Paul . –

Bella - -


	33. But All I Want Is You

Jacob's POV

Paul left without even looking back. I struggled against Sam's hold on me to no avail. My heart was pounding and I could feel beads of sweat forming on my forehead. I could not lose Bella. Oh please don't let me lose Bella. I struggled even harder as the thoughts of Bella and Paul invaded my mind like a cancer. I felt the tattoos on my body burn red hot and a pulse of energy leave them. I looked up to see that the whole pack had fallen down on their backs. They all looked up at me like I was a freak of nature. I turned around to see Sam getting back on his feet and placing his hand on my chest.

"Relax, Jacob. You're going to hurt someone." I took in a deep breath and bolted out the door. I knew someone was on my heels almost immediately.

"Jacob, wait up. Hold on Jacob!" It was Leah. I stopped in my tracks but didn't face her. I couldn't face her.

She slid her hand in mine and it reminded me so much of Bella that I felt my heart stutter.

She took a step in front of me and put her other hand on my shoulder.

"What is going to Bella now going to prove? It will not make this situation go away. She's pregnant, right? Do you really want to put her and the baby though all of this? She's not my favorite person in the world, but I think it's time you let her go."

I looked down at her incredulously. How could she think that I could ever let Bella go? She's my everything. She's the reason I wake up in the morning.

"You have _got_ to be joking Leah."

"No, I'm not. I'm so sick and tired of you running after her when I'm right here wishing you would notice me! Why can't you see me? Why do you only have eyes for her? Can't you see that her heart belongs to Paul? She was always meant for Paul. You were always meant to be her friend but you are selfish and want more from someone who physically cannot give it to you even though she has tried really hard to make it work!

"She's given you a chance Jake. Even I can see that. But you are the only one who can't see that she is making an effort to love you the way you want her to. It shouldn't be an effort – it should be effortless! Like this!"

And she grabbed my face and pulled me down to her lips and kissed me like it was the last thing she was ever going to do. I felt my markings burn again only this time not with energy but in pain. I felt like my heart was struggling to beat and the blood in my body turned to molasses as my skin was set on fire. Leah broke the kiss and shook me.

"Jake! What's wrong? Are you okay?" I felt my body start to shake and I let out a yell of pain and fear and then lost all sense of my body. I felt myself falling but Leah caught me.

"It's gone." Was all I could say before I passed out in her arms.

I woke up in my room sometime in the middle of the night, Leah sitting on a chair by my bed.

"Oh thank God." She said as she threw herself on my chest.

"How did I get here?"

She blushed and looked down at her hands.

"I carried you."

"You…what?" She stood up and opened the door.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Home. I came here to make sure you're okay, well you're alive so I should be going." And before I could ask her to stop she was out the door.

I got up slowly still sore from all the pain. I looked in the mirror and saw that I now had thin markings around my eyes. I wish I knew what all of this meant.

I looked at the clock and it was four in the morning. I groaned and picked up my phone. There was a picture of Bella sticking her tongue out at me on the screen. My heart broke. Something was wrong, I knew what it was but I couldn't say it out loud. If I did, it would make it real and it would mean that everything Leah said was right…that Bella and I were meant to just be friends.

I couldn't go back to sleep and I couldn't stay here. I had to see Bella.

I drove to her house and called her cell phone. She didn't answer, she always had her phone on and picked it up no matter what time it was. This could not be a good sign.

I thought that I'd put my super sensitive hearing to work for me.

I heard her heartbeat and her even breathing…and someone else's. Ah shit, it was Paul. It had to be.

I felt her stir and then her heart stuttered.

"You're still here." She said.

"Forever." Said Paul.

"Forever." Repeated Bella.

I didn't need to hear anymore. I left and went straight to Leah's house.

When I got there I jumped over the fence to her back yard and climbed the side of the house where her window was and knocked. She opened it immediately and pulled me in.

"What the hell are you doing here Jacob?"

"I need you." And the tears came without my permission.

She pushed me on the bed and said, "Stay." And she walked out of the room. She came back with a pile of clothes in her hands.

"Change. We're going to bed and end this day together."

I obeyed and took off my shirt and my jeans. She didn't even attempt to look away and her face was as serious as death. Once I had on a pair of Seth's sweats and a white t-shirt she grabbed my hand and brought me in bed with her.

I laid down uncomfortably and she got close to me and rested her head on my chest.

"This isn't right, Leah."

"Yes it is. You just don't see it yet. Now shut up and go to bed."

I couldn't. I stayed up the rest of the morning wishing I was with Bella rather than Leah. I wished that I could love Leah the way I do Bella. I tried thinking of her like that and I couldn't. I kept thinking about Bella's laugh and her smile and her clumsiness. I thought about the way she felt in my arms and the moments we shared.

When Leah finally woke up it was like a whole new her. She didn't waste a second and had her hands were under my shirt. I stopped her but it just fueled the fire. She moved up and pushed my hands downs and crushed her lips to mine. Is she really molesting me? No, she was just confused….and so was I as I found myself kissing her back. She moaned against my mouth and that was it. I flipped her on her back and kissed her harder.

I was angry, I was hurt, I was broken…but I had Leah…and I was going to have her….and I did. Every second of it was heart wrenching. Every moment of it was freedom. And every time I looked in Leah's eyes there was nothing but love.

****************

I left shortly after and thankfully Leah didn't ask me for anything.

"I hope I'll get to see you soon."

"We're in the same Pack, Leah, of course you will. I'll probably see you later on tonight." She reached up on her toes and kissed me before I walked out of the house.

The moment I was gone I felt like such an ass hole. Here I was in love with Bella and getting intimate with Leah. What was that? Was it revenge? Was I using Leah to get back at Bella? What the hell is wrong with me?

I was disgusted with myself yet I knew I wouldn't have been able to go through with it if the bond between Bella and I wasn't broken. It snapped and it was painful, but I was free from her. The questions was, did I want to be? I didn't!

I flipped opened my phone and called Bella. She answered on the second ring.

"Jake! I was just about to call you!"

"Yeah, I bet you were." I didn't even try to hide my anger.

"What's wrong Jake?" What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG?!

"I know Paul was with you last night. What the fuck is that about? It's like I don't even know you anymore. What's going on Bella?"

She was silent on the other end for so long I thought she hung up. I looked down on my phone and it said connected.

"Bella, are you going to answer me?"

"I need to talk to you in person Jacob."

"Bells, if you have something to say to me you can say it now."

"No, Jake I think I should come over."

"No you will not. Tell me right now!"

"I'm getting married Jacob."

I felt like a large bucket of ice had been thrown over my head and every part of my soul was broken into a million pieces.

"Jake?"

"Why Bella?" I felt numb and tired.

"Jacob, I love you so much, I do. But what I have with Paul, it's different, it's bigger, it's stronger."

"You're only with him because of the baby" I spat at her.

"That's not fair Jake. Yes, it is his baby, but no, it's not because of our child that I'm with him. It's because I want to spend the rest of my life with him. I spent all this time trying to be what you wanted me to be. And I'm not going to say that I didn't want that too but Paul has always been in the back of my mind. He stole my heart Jake, a heart that I kept trying to give to you…and I never had it to give in the first place. I know you're pissed and I know you love me and I love you but you and I, we're just really good friends Jake."

"Bella, please, think this through. How can you marry Paul? He's no good for you!"

"Yes he is Jacob."

"I slept with Leah last night." I don't know why I said it. I think I wanted her to hurt as bad as I did. As soon as the words came out I regretted them instantly. She was quiet for a second and I heard her sniffling. I made her cry. There is something seriously wrong with me.

"Goodbye Jacob." She said and the line went dead.

I was such a fuck up. I could never do anything right with Bella. I did the only thing I could think of, I went to go find Paul. I got to his parent's house and saw his bike out front. I don't know why that drove me off the deep end. I thought _well now Bella can ride bikes with him instead_. I ran to the door and banged on it. He answered with a stupid smile on his face. I didn't give him a chance to even realize what was happening. I grabbed him and pulled him out of the house and pushed him against the door.

"I can't believe you fucking did that! You were supposed to be my friend Paul! You were supposed to be my brother AND YOU TOOK HER AWAY FROM ME!"

"Jacob!"

"SHUT UP! I don't want to hear your voice. I don't want to see your face. I don't want to hear your name. I don't want to know you exist. Go ahead and marry the only girl I ever loved. Go ahead and raise the son that should have been mine. But if you EVER hurt Bella I swear to GOD I will kill you, and it will be a slow and painful death. I will enjoy every second of your suffering and it will never come close to what I am feeling now."

I slammed him up against the door again and I walked away. If I stayed any longer I would kill him on the spot…and that could get messy.

"Jacob, STOP!" He called after me, I ignored him. "Jake I said STOP."

Once the words were out of his mouth I lost all sense of control over my body. It took everything I had to fight it. As I tried to push against the force of the control I felt my markings burn.

"What the hell did you just do to me?"

"I asked you to stop."

"Well it worked cause I CAN'T MOVE!"

"What?"

"I said I CAN'T MOVE! Let me go!"

"I don't even know what I did Jacob!"

"Well whatever it was you need to undo it so I can just hurry up and kill you now!"

He crossed his arms and stared at me. Was he enjoying this or something?

"No, you're going to stand there and listen to me. I don't want to lose my best friend. But I'm going to need you to understand something. Bella is going to be my wife. I will be her husband. And like I told her before, I would be a fool to think that I could ever keep her from loving you but I also gave her an option. She chose me Jake. She's having my child. We're going to be a family and that is something that you need to accept. The sooner you do, the sooner all of us can move on. The sooner you can be part of this family too. I will not deny you your imprint Jacob. You are to be what she needs you to be. Not what you want to be for her. So, when you've come to terms with all of this then we can talk again."

If only he knew that the imprint was gone.

He turned and walked back toward the house.

"Paul! Wait." I don't know why I bothered to call for him, but there was something I needed to know for sure and I needed it to come from his mouth.

"Do you love her? Like, do you really love her?"

"Yes." He said and I could tell he meant it with every fiber in his being. I didn't like it but at least I know that he would always love her and take care of her.

"Ok." Was all I could say and he turned again and went inside.

I left and found myself in front of Leah's house again. I needed to apologize to her. What I did this morning was barbaric and selfish and she needed to know that she deserved better.

I got to her door and Seth answered.

"Hey Seth, is Leah in?" he growled at me.

"What's the matter with you?"

"You forget that I'm a wolf and I have ears and I'm a light sleeper."

"Shit."

"Listen to me, and you listen good. If my sister gets hurt in any way you will have to answer to me. I love you like you're my brother but that's my sister in there. I protect her and I don't care how close we may be, I will rough you up."

I was getting tired of this. "I just want to see Leah…please?" he didn't have time enough to answer as her voice drifted off from behind him.

"Who's at the door Seth?" and she appeared behind him. "Oh, Jacob…" she blushed and pushed Seth in the house and closed the door in his face.

"Hey, what are you doing here…you just left." I took her hands in mine and sighed.

"What happened this morning…"

"Jacob, I don't regret it."

"Wait, listen to me."

"No, Jake, you think I want to hear the reasons on why you did it? No, I don't care. It was my decision too. Look, you know how I feel about you and I just want you to know that, when you're ready, there's someone who really cares about you."

She let go of my hands and went to open the door but I grabbed her arm and brought her in to a hug.

"I'm sorry, ok. I don't know what I'm going to do from this point on. But you shouldn't wait for me, you shouldn't bother with me. You deserve someone who can always be there for you." She kissed my chest and looked up at me.

"But all I want is you." She reached up and kissed my cheek and went inside.

I sat on her steps for an hour just staring off into nothingness thinking of everything that has happened. What a difference one day can make.


	34. A Lifetime With You

**Paul's POV **

"Bella, can you hurry it up in there? We're just going to my parent's house." I said against the bedroom door.

"I don't have anything to wear." I rolled my eyes. She had been shopping for three days straight changing her mind every time she stepped into a new store thinking that THIS one would be perfect. Ever since my mom called her and asked her to join us for dinner on Friday she's been freaking out.

"Bella you'll look beautiful in anything you wear, let's go." I heard a thud against the door.

"Did you just throw a shoe at me?"

"Paul, you _have_ to say I'm pretty."

"That's it Bella I'm coming in."

I turned the knob and walked in closing the door behind me. She was sitting on the edge of her bed with her Pirates of the Caribbean PJ's on staring at the open closet door. She was right, I had to say those things, but looking at her like that with her arms crossed and her little pouting lips I couldn't help think that a supermodel could be standing next to her and pale in comparison.

"Bella," I said sitting on the bed next to her. "Why are you so nervous? It's not like they bite."

"You're mom is going to hate me, Paul. Look at me. I'm plain and I'm pregnant."

"Bells, you're seven weeks in, you don't even have a baby bump yet." I got up and walked to her closet and brought out her cute little Express skinny jeans, a pair of black stiletto boots, a white button up blouse and the leather motorcycle jacket I got for her the other day. I threw it all on the bed and started doing some damage in her top dresser drawer where she kept all of her jewelry boxes. I took out a bundle of black bangle bracelets, black stud earrings and the Gucci sunglasses I bought to match the moto jacket.

"There." I said once I was done. "Now get dressed." She looked at me like I was nuts.

"Hey just cause I'm a guy doesn't mean I don't know what will look awesome on a woman, especially one that I'm about to marry." She smiled and stood up sliding her arms around my waist.

"You're too patient with me." I unhooked her arms from me reluctantly.

"Go on, we're going to be late."

"Do you really think that it's a good idea to go looking like a badass Armani Exchange model to meet your parents? Don't you think I should…I don't know, wear a girl next door dress or something?"

"Oh, Bella. Wait 'til you meet my mom and dad. They know I wouldn't come anywhere near a girl like that. I like my bad asses."

I left her to get ready and headed down stairs.

Charlie was sitting on the couch watching a game he recorded on his DVR. He was quiet for a long time before he broke the silence.

"She's pretty nervous isn't she?" he asked keeping his eye on the game the whole time.

"Yeah, but she'll be fine. My parents already love her and are excited to meet her. They want to see the girl that got Paul to settle down." I laughed to myself.

"So, Bella told me you guys are looking into buying a house?"

"Yeah, we saw one the other day from the outside and we set up an appointment to see it tomorrow."

"What about a wedding date?" I smiled to myself. I got chills whenever I thought of Bella and I together forever.

"She hasn't decided yet. She's nervous about that too, but I think it's more about her fear of fitting into a dress." We both laughed and just then Bella walked down the stairs looking like a cover model for a motorcycle magazine. My heart stopped and my mind raced into not so appropriate thoughts. I stood up and walked over to her. She had straightened her hair flat making it look so shiny it was almost black. She also added some makeup to make her eyes look smoky.

"You look…"

"Beautiful." Charlie finished for me.

Bella's eyes didn't leave my face and my eyes didn't leave hers. It was one of those moments you wish you could capture and keep with you forever. I took her hand and led her out the door and told Charlie I would have her home before midnight. Surprisingly he said that he didn't expect it so don't bother and to just make sure she was safe.

I opened the door to the Jeep for her and helped her in. I buckled her seat belt for her and let my hand graze her belly and linger there for a while before I snapped her in and closed her door.

I jumped into the driver seat and took her hand. Any length of time spent not touching her was time wasted.

We got to the house in no time and parked the car. Bella was shaking her leg nervously. I placed my hand on it and tried to send her calming vibes.

"Sorry." She said. I shook my head. "They're going to love you." I winked at her and walked out over to her side of the car.

We walked up the steps Bella holding on to my hand for dear life. I opened the door and my mom was quick to rush over to us.

"Bella! Oh honey, you're so beautiful! Come here and give me a hug!" Bella glanced at me and then went over to my mom.

"Bella, this is my mom Angie."

"Hi." Said Bella shyly. My dad came up behind my mom.

"And this is my dad Adam." My dad hugged her too.

"Mom, dad, this is the girl of my dreams." Bella blushed furiously and looked at me like I was crazy.

"What? You are." I slid my hands around her waist and kissed her cheek.

"Ok, don't move. Let me go grab the camera. You too look so perfect together."

"Mom, that's embarrassing. What, am I thirteen all over again?"

"Quiet, you're my baby and you guys look like models."

I felt Bella relax in my arms and I kissed her again. My mother found the camera and took a picture of it.

The rest of the night was filled with laughter and very embarrassing story telling. It wasn't long after dinner that we all huddled on the couch and my mom brought out the baby pictures. Bella was having the time of her life flipping through the pages of what looked like the bible of my childhood.

We got to the part where the pictures went from baby to toddler and Bella gasped suddenly and covered her mouth then pointed to a picture of me when I was three. I was lying on my bed with a stuffed animal at my side and my thumb in my mouth. I knew what she was thinking. It was like looking at Ciqala. My parents didn't notice her shock. They thought she was pointing out how 'cute' I was, but I knew. I wrapped my arms around her and she leaned back into me.

"Oh, baby, you look so tired." She said to Bella. She smacked my hand. "Paul, you should take Bella home, she looks dead on her feet."

"No, Angie, I'm fine I'm just…looking at these pictures…" she trailed off and put her arms over mine and looked down at her stomach. In essence we were both holding onto our son. My mom looked at us and looked so happy.

"Wait right here sweetheart." She said as she patted Bella's leg. She came back a minute later and sat down on the couch facing Bella.

"Bella, honey, we've never met before but I love you like a daughter already. Anyone who can make my son look like that…I mean the smile has not come off of his face all night. You really have moved something in him, and that moves something in me. Now, I don't know what Paul was planning but if it's okay with him I would like you to have this, to wear this."

She pulled out a small velvet gold box and opened it. It was her wedding rings. I snapped my head up and stared at my her. Those rings meant everything to her.

"It was my mothers and her mothers, and her mother's and so on. It has been in our family and in our tribe for more years than I can count. I want you to have it." Bella nodded her head. I took the box from my mother and moved to kneel in front of the most beautiful woman in the world. I looked up into her tear filled eyes.

"I love you, Bella. Will you marry me?" She nodded her head and smiled. It took my breath away. I slid the ring with the diamond on it on her finger. Once it was on she flung her arms around my neck and held on tight.

"I love you, Paul!" I stood up picking her up with me. I felt my parents leave the room as I held her to me. I pulled her back and cupped her face.

"You're tearing up." She said with tears in her own eyes.

"You've made me happier than I can describe with words alone." I placed a gentle kiss on her lips and held her close to me.

"Come on." I said after a while as I took her hand. "I want to take you somewhere." She arched her eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"Mom! Dad! We're leaving." They hurried into the living room and we all said our goodbyes. My mother made Bella promise that she would come to see her soon and then let us leave.

I drove to First Beach. We rode in silence holding hands. When we got there I popped the trunk and folded down the seats. I had piles of blankets and pillows back there.

Bella laughed when she saw it.

"Planning something?"

"Yes." I said seriously. "A lifetime with you." I picked her up and laid her down inside. I crawled in after her and wrapped a blanket around us. We stayed there the whole night talking, laughing and of course making out. We both started getting tired sometime around two in the morning and fell asleep under the stars and listening to the crashing of wave after wave.


	35. Home Is Where The Heart Is

**Bella's POV**

I was blind folded. No, it's not what you think. Ever since we had gone house hunting a month ago and found out that the house of my dreams was pending sale to a higher bidder my spirits have been a little down. I couldn't help it. I was so excited. From the moment I laid eyes on it I knew it was the house that I wanted to raise a family in. It was a beautiful two story house on the edge of the Quiluete reservation. It had a beautiful backyard that expanded into the forest with a trail that would take you directly to First Beach within a mere ten minutes of walking. I think that's what got me the most, the fact that it opened up to the beach. But not just any spot on the beach, it was _our_ spot.

The house itself had four bedrooms (for future expansion which Paul and I both wanted) a nice sized living room and a beautiful kitchen. Every room that we walked into, I would picture Ciqala roaming around getting himself into trouble. It filled my heart with joy and anticipation. No other house did that for me, and to be completely honest I think I saw that same look from Paul.

Needless to say I was more than a little bummed out. So, Paul being the fabulous fiancé that he is has tried everything to put a smile on my face – and he did, but in the back of my mind I kicked myself for not working harder to be able to afford the house of our dreams.

"Paul, is the blindfold really necessary?"

"Bella, just humor me." He insisted that I wear it and made me promise not to peak. He kept going on and on about how he found just the thing that will, and I quote, "turn that frown upside down."

Since he had been so patient and wonderful to me I refrained from telling him where he could put his blindfold and decided I would play along.

"Ok, but you better not let me trip. I'm hardly coordinated as it is and this contraption on my face is only making it worse." I heard a rumble of laughter come from his chest as he hugged me. All my anxiety at the "Surprise" was quickly forgotten. Every worry was forgotten when I was in his arms. I felt whole and completely happy. I would have been satisfied with him just keeping me like this all day long.

He helped me into the car and buckled my seatbelt for me as he always insisted he do. I think it was because he felt like he needed to protect from everything. Sometimes even from myself.

He got in the driver seat and put his hand on mine, as he always did. It was these little things that made my heart flutter. I could never get enough of him even in the most simple of ways.

I leaned my head back as Paul turned on the radio to my favorite jazz station. He was trying to calm me – it worked. As I listened to the saxophone intermingle notes with the piano my mind wandered to my little baby boy. His beautiful face was permanently engraved in my memory. I played every detail of that special night with my son. I thanked Paul everyday for giving me that most wonderful of gifts. I truly loved this man.

I thought about little Ciqala's face, the beautiful long lashes of his that reminded me so much of his father. He did look so much like Paul. I was glad for it. I felt the smile pull at the edges of my mouth and I knew I looked like a grinning idiot but I couldn't ask for a better son, a better fiancé.

Paul squeezed my hand and started humming along with the saxophone and my heart melted into a puddle of love goo.

Twenty minutes passed by and the car came to a slow stop.

"We're here, Bella." He let go of my hand and I heard the door open and close on his side and then felt the click of my door open and the breeze from the wind outside graze the side of my body.

There was a click and release from my seatbelt and before I knew what was happening Paul picked me up cradling me in his arms. I wrapped my arms around him and leaned my head in his shoulder trailing gentle kisses along his neck.

"Easy Bella or I'll have to take you right here." He chided playfully. I giggled and complied. Not that I would mind it much, I just didn't know where _here_ was.

He took a couple paces and then set me on my feet as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Bella, I know you were really excited about that house and have been really sad ever since. I really hope what I'm about to show you brightens your spirits. I love you Bella Swan."

He slowly slid his arms off of my waist tickling me in the process. His hands traveled up my arms, slowly, to my shoulders, up my neck and to the blindfold. He untied it. The bright light blinded me and I had to blink back the tears before I could focus on what was in front of me. I rubbed my eyes with the back of my knuckles and looked back up.

My. Heart. Stopped.

Directly in front of me was the house of my dreams. There was a for sale sign out front with a red and white SOLD sign plastered on top of it. A huge banner was hanging from the front double doors that read.

"Welcome home Bella, Paul (and baby Ciqala)"

I clasped my hands over my mouth and the tears were uncontrolled streaming down my face. I turned to face Paul and the grin on his face went from ear to ear.

He bent down and brushed his lips by my ear as he whispered. "I was the highest bidder the whole time. I hope you'll forgive me for stressing you out for the past couple weeks."

And I did what I always did when I wanted to be as close to him as possible. I jumped up in his arms as he caught me and spun me around.

I couldn't find my breath to speak. Paul had bought the house. He had pretended we didn't get it so that he could surprise me. I was so happy I couldn't even think. I jumped out of his arms. My hands were on his face in a heartbeat and my lips followed.

"I love you Paul." I said my lips still pressed against his mouth.

He broke the kiss and took my hand.

"These are for you." He said as he dropped a set of keys in the palm of my hand. I squealed and jumped up and down and grabbed his hang practically dragging him to the front door. I was so excited my hands were shaking as I tried to put the key in the door to unlock it. When I finally managed to my heart dropped again. The white walls where gone and were now painted chocolate brown they way I said I had wanted to. The living room had a flat screen in it with a full entertainment center and comfy looking Victorian style couches – just the way I wanted it. I was frozen in shock and turned to face Paul.

He shrugged his shoulders the smile never leaving his face. "I told you my dad would furnish the house, he asked me what you liked and I told him… and there you have it."

I couldn't speak. I turned in circles taking everything in. it was more than I could have ever dreamed of. He took my hand and moved us along.

"It's a big house Bella, we still have more to see." He said clearly enjoying my happiness.

The kitchen was redone; the old oak cabinets were now mahogany with tarnished antique looking handles and black marble countertops with specks of green glinting off of the surface when the light hit it. The dining room had a massive cherry wood table with matching heavy looking chairs with white cushions. My heart stuttered. This was the same table I showed Paul in the furniture magazine that came in the mail the other day that I told him I just HAD to HAVE.

"There's more." He whispered as he took me up the stairs. He took me to two of the smaller rooms. One had nothing but a full size bed, an oak chest at the foot of the bed and one dresser. This had been the room I told him I wanted to be the guest room. We moved on to the second one and I had to pause. The entire room was lined in bookshelves. At the corner of it was a chaise lounge chair with a black small side table with a reading light.

"I built the table and the bookshelves myself." He said obviously proud of himself. I turned to face him. I was so overwhelmed I could only kiss him…and I kissed him good.

"Do you like it?" he asked shyly. Of course I liked it!

"Paul…I…I don't know how to even begin to tell you how much I like it – love it! I love it Paul." He wiped the tears away and kissed my eyes.

"I wanted you to have your own space Bells. I wanted you to have a You Room. I know how you love to read and I want to fill this room up from floor to ceiling with whatever books you desire."

I looked up into his eyes. "When did you become this perfect person Paul? Where's my hot head?"

A mischievous look invaded his eyes as he pulled me in close to him. "I can show you…tonight if you'd like."

My blood turned hot at the suggestive tone in his voice. My brain raced with all of the possibilities as my heart did several jumps. I bit my lip nervously.

"You drive me crazy."

"As do you, my love, as do you." He kissed my cheek and then walked out of the door beckoning me to follow him. I sighed deeply trying to focus my brain on the task of putting on foot in front of the other.

The next stop on the tour was our room, the biggest of them all. I was surprised when I all I saw was a mattress on a bed frame.

"Work in progress…" he muttered as took my hand and led me to the last room…our baby's room.

He opened it slowly and my heart stopped in anticipation. When he opened it, this room too had not been furnished or painted. I was confused and maybe just a little disappointed. I walked in and saw a whole load of toys and bottles and diapers still in their packaging in the corner of the room. Paul walked in, stood in front of me and took my hands in his.

"Are you upset?" I shook my head but he saw right through me…and he chuckled.

"Bella, there's a reason this room is has not been started on."

"What, then?" I said a little sadness creeping up into my voice. I figured that this would be the one room in the house that would be most important to him but he hadn't gotten to it yet.

"Between my father and I the house is all but completely done. This was the first room my father thought we should tackle but I refused. Do you want to know why, Bella?"

I nodded my head not trusting myself to speak. He lifted my chin with his fingers so that he was looking straight into my eyes.

"Because I wanted this to be something _we_ did for our son. You and me, for Ciqala. I wanted your hands and mine to be the only hands to create a place him. Our first gift to our son."

I was stunned into silence. I stared at him for what seemed to be a large amount of time. He _did_ care about this room. He _had_ thought about it. Why would I even for a second think that this would not be important to him. I was such a fool.

"I love you Paul Koda. Have I ever told you how wonderful you are?" He swept me up in his arms and took me to _our_ room.

"Might as well break this bad boy in." he said as I jumped out of his arms to stand on the bed like a little kid wanting to jump up and down.

And we did. Thankfully the ceiling was high enough for us not to hit our heads. Sure, I felt like I was two, but I was so happy and I was with the man of my dreams…and he knew how to be a kid too. After several minutes of 'breaking in the bed' we both collapsed in a fit of laughter.

"So is this one not finished because you wanted my help?"

"This one isn't finished because I knew you'd kill me if I had my way with it…you know, Sports Illustrated model bed sheets, mini fridge packed with junk on the side of the bed - flat screen and black curtains. I cringed and smacked his shoulder. He rolled over on top of me without actually touching me. He caressed my face and pushed back a stray hair behind my ear.

"This is _our_ house. Whatever you want to do in here, I'll help. You direct I do." He placed a gentle kiss on my lips and then my cheek, down my neck and bare shoulder.

"Now, how about we _really _break this bed in."

I giggled nervously and brought his face back down to me. How could I resist?


	36. Back To Life

**Jacob's POV**

Two months, one week and four days passed by since the last time I heard Bella's voice, since the last time I saw Paul, since I've last seen Leah. Nine and a half very long weeks of torture and confusion, every second spent wondering how my life got so screwed up.

Leah called me several times. I never ignored her call as much as I wanted to, but I didn't exactly talk to her either. I would pick up the phone and tell her that I needed more time. Each time she would say, "Okay." and would hang up with a sigh.

I was so disgusted with myself that I broke every mirror in the house. I couldn't even stand to look at myself anymore. Billy, long ago, decided that talking to me wasn't as effective at calming my nerves as he wished it would be, so I was basically left alone – figures! Everyone treated me as if I was a live bomb ready to go off at any second. Sam had asked me to stop going on patrols with him and the pack for a while. That stung the worst, although I couldn't blame him. I would exile myself too if I were in his shoes. They managed to get the rogue vampire far from our area effectively doing what a pack should be doing no thanks to me.

I found new markings in different places everyday and have immersed myself with the ancient books of our tribe that mentioned anything about them. As there was only one before me I didn't get much, but I did find out a couple things. The one that I clung to the most was Elias (the elder with the tats) imprinted three times. His first wife died during childbirth. His second disappeared one day and was never seen again, depressing, I know. But the third, the third was different. He lived with her for a hundred years. She also had a mark but it was "given" to her by Elias. It doesn't say how she got it, but that was hardly anything I cared about. The point here was that he CHOSE who he got to imprint on. This gave me hope – tons of it.

…_and he was heartbroken and in rage. Men feared a single glare. The tribe cowered in his presence for the anger and the angst overwhelmed him and followed him wherever he went. No one dared confront him, not a single man… A woman came to him one day. A brave woman who felt for the loss and distress of Elias – A strong woman capable of bringing his heart back to life…and he chose to imprint on her…Elias imprinted on Aiyana…_

That was it. It didn't say that the forces of nature blah, blah, blah made them imprint. No! It says that he _chose_ to imprint on her. It was never broken for once he decided to imprint he couldn't take it back. Not that he would want to, it was his imprint. As soon as I read it I thought immediately of Leah. Not Bella, Leah.

I've probably picked up the phone, dialed her number and then hung up about a million times. When she called I choked. I didn't even know how one did that. Of course I would be the one other person in existence with this power. So, what would I say to her? 'Hey, Leah, I just wanted to say hey, so, wanna be my imprint?' not a chance, and anyway, would it even be possible to imprint on another wolf? Ugh, I was in such a predicament. I slammed the book shut for the hundredth time in frustration when a knock came at my front door. I checked the time and groaned when I saw that it was 1:33am. Who the heck would be knocking at this time?

I opened the door and there stood Leah in the rain, her clothes (what little she had on) were drenched. Her hair was soaked and plastered on the side of her face. She was crying. She was just standing there, her hands at her sides, her head down and her shoulders shaking as she sobbed. My heart dropped and I stepped out into the rain with her, grabbed her hands and put them around my neck as I lifted her chin and kissed her. She didn't stop crying but she didn't push me away either. Instead she dug her hands into my hair bringing me closer to her. Something changed in me in that moment. All fear that I had before, all doubts were washed away with the rain and it all just clicked. Leah. Every part of me screamed Leah. I cupped her face and pull her back slightly.

"Jake-"

"Shh," I silenced her with a finger to her lips.

"I'm sorry, Leah. I wanted to see you, I wanted to come over, I wanted to talk, but I just couldn't. I thought of you…the whole time, actually. I think that maybe I'm ready…for this…for _us_."

"I…Jake, I have something I need to tell you." The way she said it scared the hell out of me. Did she not want an 'us' anymore? Had I just decided to give myself to another girl who would break my heart?

"Leah, if you don't want me-"

"I'm pregnant."

_WHAT?!_

"What?"

"Please don't make me say it again."

"But…how? I thought…you know… that you…_couldn't_."

"Well apparently I can, because I am and you…were my first…and last…"

I was silent and shocked and worried and…_happy_? I held her hands in mine and made her look at me.

"I thought that this is something you wanted, Leah. Why are you crying?"

She said something so low that I couldn't hear it over the sound of the rushing rain.

"What was that?"

"…you don't love me." Oh, that…

"Leah, I…" I didn't know how to say it. I knew I did. I was scared to. But it was the truth. I held on to her hand tight trying to find the strength to say it out loud, but I think I might have held on _too_ tight.

"Ouch! That hurt! What did you do?"

I took my hand away from hers and was stunned when I saw the same markings that were on the back on my hand, on the back of hers. Her head snapped up and she struggled for words, but I provided them for her.

"I love you, Leah Clearwater. I…" but the words were taken from me as an indescribable pull, a force so great that all mental ability, all ties to this world, to this planet, to this universe were taken from me, swept from right under my feet. Everything I ever loved, or thought I knew – it was all wrong. It was shown to me as if for the first time. This…this girl in front of me…she was the very core of my existence the very meaning to life. Every and anything - she was it all. My heart faltered, it stopped beating. I stopped breathing…and then she touched me and it was as if fire rushed through my veins as my marks _glowed_ at the same moment hers did. My eyes never left her beautiful eyes, her agonizingly beautiful face.

"Leah…" I breathed. Her lips were on mine in an instant. I held her to me as tight as I could. I was desperate for her. I need her…I _loved_ her.

"Jake…" she said her lips never leaving mine.

"I imprinted…on you." I pulled her back suddenly.

"What?...I…but _I_ imprinted on _you_."

"What?"

"Yeah." I said with a smile spread across my face.

"We imprinted on each other?" I nodded in response. I picked her up in my arms and crushed my lips on hers. I figured we could last a while without coming back up for air.

The rain fell on us, but I don't think either of us cared. All that mattered is that we had each other, that we loved each other and all that was once wrong in the world was now right. Two broken hearted, broken people found each other and saved each other from themselves.

I had my soul mate, I had my friend…and now I would have a child, my child, our child.

"So, you're not mad…that I'm…you know…" I shook my head at her.

"No! Not at all, Leah. If anything…I love you…_both_." She sighed in relief and wrapped her arms around me as I brought her inside. She dried up and laid in my bed as I took a shower. I walked back into the room to find that she was asleep on her side holding onto the blanket as her straight black her was splayed across the pillows. How have I never _seen_ her before?

I laid down at her side and collected her into my arms. She snuggled close to me and kissed my bare chest. I held her right hand, the one with the mark, to my lips and kissed it. It pulsed under my lips. She laughed sleepily.

"That tickles." She mumbled. I held her tighter and closed my eyes.

"Goodnight Leah,"

"Night, Jake." I buried my face into her hair and kissed her before drifting off into the most peaceful sleep of my life…at the side of the woman, the warrior, the wolf I would love for the rest of my life. And my child, who I love with the very core of my heart and my soul.

* * *

For the Jake lovers like myself…this one was for you! I would never leave our poor Jakey brokenhearted. I heart him

The name Aiyana is a Native American name which means Eternal Blossom

Fun fact about the name "Leah" It is a Hebrew name. In the bible Leah was the first wife of…get this…Jacob! I know! Cool right!? When I remembered this, weeks ago, I knew what I was going to do or what I just might do. In the end it was a sign and I worked it out. I hope you are enjoying the story, we're almost at the end here. Thank you to every who reviewed, can't tell you the kind of motivation that is. I also want to thank everyone who added me to their favs – you guys rock! More to come soon! *HUGS*


	37. By Invitation Only

**Jacob's POV**

Please share our joy with us as we

Isabella Marie Swan

And

Paul Adam Koda

Begin our new journey together

On

Saturday November 21st

At

First Beach, La Push, WA

It was simple and to the point and it didn't hurt me at all. I actually dreaded this day. I knew Bella and Paul would not, NOT invite me. I thought it would bother me but it didn't bother me at all. In fact, I was perfectly happy for them.

"What's that?" Asked Leah looking over my shoulder.

"A wedding invitation." She eyed me warily but didn't say anything. I grabbed her by the waist bring her close to me then ran both of my hands through her hair.

"No, I'm not bothered." She let out a sigh of relief and reached up on her toes to kiss me before walking back into the kitchen to finish dinner. She insisted on making me something today after having been eating out all week.

"So are we going?" She called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, she's my best friend, you know. Never mind all the drama. This is her day and I know she would want me there…at least, I _think_ she would."

"She would." Leah reassured me. I crossed my fingers. I really did miss Bella and Paul, more than I thought I ever could.

The phone rang interrupting my thoughts.

"Black Residence."

"Uh…hi…um…Jacob. It's Paul." My heart backed up into my throat. What could this be about?

"Uh, hey, Paul. Haven't heard from you in a while."

"Yeah well, it's been kind of busy around here and I wasn't sure how you were holding up. I didn't want to…rub salt in the wound or anything." I laughed, he was right, but I take it he hasn't heard and about me and Leah.

"Water under the bridge, brother." I heard him sigh heavily on the other end of the phone.

"I've missed you man."

"Me too Paul. Listen, I should apologize…"

"Don't, Jacob. Don't be sorry for loving Bella. Don't ever be sorry for that. I would have reacted much worse. I should apologize, I was…persistent."

I laughed. That was an understatement if ever I heard one.

"So, you haven't heard about the double imprint I take it."

"Yes, I have, actually. The day after it happened. Congrats, man, I'm happy for you."

"Ditto, Paul. So, did you just call to shoot the shit or was there an actual reason for the sudden phone call?"

"Yeah, bro, I uh…I was wondering if you would be my best man…at…the wedding. Would you?"

"Me? Why not Sam?" I heard him scoff and then clear his throat.

"No offense to Sam, but I love YOU, Jake. I need my brother there with me on the most important day of my life." I nodded my head in reply to him at a loss for words when I realized he couldn't see me.

"Sure, Sure. "

"Good." He said, clearly with a smile on his face.

"I'll see you soon."

"Yeah." I was about to hang up, but I couldn't without tell him… "Hey, Paul?"

"Mmm?"

"I love you too."

"I know." And he hung up. I had my brother back in my life – it was a good feeling.

*******

Paul's POV

She was freaking out. I know she was. I could feel her although I was forbidden to see her.

"Paul. Breathe." I looked over at Jacob as he helped me adjust my tie.

"Sorry. I'm just…I should go check on her." I started walking out the door when the entire pack stood in front of it blocking me from getting to my love.

"Oh no you don't! You stay right there until you're called."

"But…she needs me. I know she does!"

"And she'll have you, in about…" Jake quickly glanced at his watch before turning back to me. "…thirty minutes."

I sighed heavily and sat on the couch, my leg shaking in nerves and in anticipation. What if she changed her mind? What if, at the last minute, instead of saying "I do." she says, "I don't."

_Calm yourself. You're starting to make _me _nervous!_

_Jake, you can hear me. I forgot, I'm sorry._

_Don't be brother. I'm here for you. _ He put his hand on my shoulder and I felt a wave of calm flow over me. I shot my head up at him and he must have felt it too cause he snatched his hand away immediately.

_What the hell was that?_

He shrugged his shoulders. _ I've learned its best not to ask and just to accept._

I didn't have the energy to think about all of that at the moment. My full and utter heart, mind and soul was focused on Bella. Always Bella, soon to me my_ wife…_ I hope.

*******

Bella's POV

"I need to see him." I made a beeline for the door and was stopped in my tracks by the girls, Emily, Kim, Angela and Leah.

"You'll see him at the altar. Calm down." Leah, was always so…Leah. I couldn't calm down. I wanted to see him. I needed to be with him. I hadn't seen him in three days. Three days! He was stolen from me. Damn those wolves and their macho bachelor crap! And these girls in front of me…they were just as bad. They took me to a strip club…gross! As if anyone even came close to Paul – no way. It was NOT fun…not at all.

"Leah, you may be the big bad wolf and all, but I'm about to go bridezilla on your ass if you don't step out of the way."

"You can't – we're pregnant."

"I don't ca- Wait, what?" Her eyes went wide as the rest of us trapped her in a circle.

"Did you just say _we're _pregnant, as in plural, as in, you're pregnant too?" I asked shocked.

"Leah…" Emily prodded.

"Oh my God, please don't tell Jake I told you. We didn't want to bring it up. Not now, not here. Damn me and my big mouth."

I felt the blood in my veins go cold. At first I thought it was jealousy…but no, that wasn't it. It was…anger…that he didn't tell me. Why wouldn't he tell me? I was his friend wasn't I? He apologized to me the day after Paul asked him to be his best man. But…I thought we were going to go back to the way it used to be, but I was wrong. I felt like he had lied to me in some way.

"Bella? Bella, are you okay? You're going pale."

"No! I'm not ok! I haven't seen my fiancé in three days, I'm trapped in this room for another 28 minutes and now I find out that my best friend is keeping things from me…really big important things from me. NO! 'Okay' would not be the word I'd choose." I huffed and my bangs went flying. I'm leaving…NOW.

I stormed out of the room down the hall where I knew the boys would be. The girls chased me down the hall but I was too quick for them, even being four and a half months pregnant and wearing a dress that revealed way too much.

I knocked on the door and Seth peeked out of the crack in the door.

"Bella!" he exclaimed.

"Jake. Now." He looked at me confused.

"Don't you mean, Paul?"

"Don't you think I would have _said_ Paul if I _wanted_ Paul. Jake. NOW!"

He turned and looked over his shoulder but didn't need to say anything as Jacob stepped out of the door careful not to show me to Paul or Paul to me.

"Wow. Bells, you look…"

"Yeah, yeah Beautiful, whatever." I pushed him and he staggered a step backwards. The girls that were in the hall just a second ago disappeared in a heartbeat. We were alone.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" he asked seriously confused.

"That you were going to be a FATHER!"

"Shit. Leah told you?"

"Not on purpose, so you leave her alone. Damn it Jake I thought we were friends. Have things changed so much that you thought you couldn't tell me something that important? I wouldn't hide something like that from you. Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"Seriously, Bella, because I was afraid to tell you, I don't know why. I just was. I'm sorry. I didn't think it would bother you as much as it clearly did."

"Jake, it's not about the baby; it's about you not trusting me. What's it going to be next, huh? That you're going to move to Florida and not tell me until you're already unpacked in the sunshine state?"

"Bella, look, I said I was sorry." I plopped down on the floor my brown dress floating around me. Jake sighed and sat down next to me. He put his arm around my shoulder and I rested my head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Jake. It's just that so much is changing in our lives. It's all happened so fast, you know? Not that I don't want it to happen…I would just like something to stay the same in my life. You were always that constant and I guess when I heard the news not five minutes ago I snapped. I want my friend back is all."

"You're right Bella. I should have told you. You have always been my constant, I should be too."

"Jake, can I tell you something and you promise not to laugh?"

"I make no promises." I chucked at him and smacked his leg playfully.

"I feel really fat and ugly." He let go of me and turned to face me with a stunned look on his face.

"Bells, listen to me." He said as he took my hands and lifted me off the floor.

"You're stunning, and not because you're all dressed up. You're naturally breathtaking. That has not changed today. Do you hear me?"

I nodded my head blushing furiously. He laughed.

"There's that smile." He pulled me in and hugged me tight.

"I've missed you Jake."

"I've missed you too Bella." We stepped out of our embrace and both looked down unable to meet the others gaze.

"This is it. Are you ready Bells?"

"Yes. I've been ready." He smiled and kissed my cheek and started heading toward the door when he stopped mid step and turned back to me.

"I love you, Bella." I froze. I hadn't heard him say that in a _long_ time. He didn't move either.

"I love you too, Jake." He moved forward and kissed my forehead. I walked away before the tears would ruin my mascara.


	38. Wedding Bells

**Paul's POV**

** Please see links at the end of the chapter for pictures and YouTube links so that you guys can see details of what this wedding looks like through my eyes. I hope you enjoy this next chapter! **

I heard the music begin to play and knew that within a matter of moments the woman of my dreams would be walking out of the forest path, and onto First Beach to make the choice to become my wife. Several different emotions played though my being, but mostly the undeniable love for me fiancé and best friend. Bella. Over and over again the name of my love played in my mind. Bella, Bella, Bella. It was a perfect day to be married to her. Everything was absolutely perfect.

It was beautiful outside. It was cold, yes, but there was absolutely no overcast. Not a single cloud in the sky. The sun was at its full potential warming us all. God's wonderful gift to us, I'd imagine.

The beach was decorated beautifully with cream colored covers over the chairs. The entire path, from the house down the forest path into the isle between the chairs, was covered in cream and maroon rose pedals that led to the beautifully decorated gazebo. I was going to have to thank my mother, Emily, Kim, Angela and Leah profusely. They really did think of everything. Even the music was unique. It wasn't the normal wedding march, but a local Quileute prodigy who composed it for us at the request of my father and Charlie.

I felt a pat on my shoulder and turned to see Jacob standing at my side.

"I'm here if you need to hold my hand." He said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes and smiled as he laughed.

"Couldn't have done this without you. Thank you for…being here for me and putting up with all my crap."

"That's what brothers are for." He said sincerely. At that very moment Emily and Sam stepped out of the forest and walked down the aisle followed by Kim and Jared, Leah and Embry and Angela and Seth. Claire was the flower girl so Quil came in at her side. It was the funniest thing to watch but there he was, with his pretty little imprint and he was not ashamed. The girls were dressed in different brown toned lace dresses as the men wore cream and brown linen suits. I myself was wearing a tan brown tux…that Bella picked out. She wouldn't let me see it until it was time to make sure it fit. She wanted everything to be a surprise for me. God, lover her.

The knot in my stomach grew tighter. The only other person left who would be stepping out of the forest would be my Bella…and she did.

My heart stopped. My breathing stopped and the whole world paused in that second that my eyes found her pretty little face. She was…perfect…beautiful…stunning…_mine._ She was so radiantly beautiful that the warmth was no longer coming from the sun above, but from my love just ahead. Her hair was down and her curls hung lose. Her dress was milk chocolate brown (she said wearing white would be a tragedy but didn't tell me what color she would be wearing) and the neckline was…plunging to say the least. She wore a long necklace that rested between her breasts. The dress itself was flowing and you couldn't exactly see her baby bump. It took all of my will and self restraint to keep from running over to her.

Her arms were interlocked with Charlie's and she was looking down until she took the final step out of the forest and onto the sandy beach. She didn't have shoes on. Instead she had beaded foot jewelry which made her look like a goddess. I wanted to worship her for the rest of my life…and I would.

The moment her feet hit the sand, she looked up and her eyes found mine instantly. Even from this distance I could see the blush forming on her cheeks. Her smile was brilliant. The moment she smiled the knot in my stomach loosened and I became relaxed and comfortable. As my mother has said to her before, she really _has_ moved something within me.

Everyone else on the beach disappeared and it was just me and my Bella. When she finally stood in front of me Charlie put her hands in mine and said, "Take care of my baby girl." as tears gathered in his eyes.

"I will." I promised and he nodded his head and took a seat by Bella's mom and Phil.

"Hi." I whispered to her.

"Hi." She whispered back.

…and the wedding ceremony began with Billy Black as our wedding officiant. Being the head of the tribe council it seemed appropriate. He was more than willing to do so.

There was a whole lot of talking but it was hard to pay attention when Bella kept looking at me like that…like she wanted to …_eat me_. Several times during the ceremony we had to fight back fits of laughter. We were obviously wanting to get to the 'I do' part already.

"…I do believe that the couple today has chosen to say their own vows. Paul, the ring?"

I turned to face Jacob who took the small golden box out of his pocket, opening it for me. I pulled out the ring and faced my love.

"I, Paul Koda, take you, Isabella Swan to be my friend, my lover, the mother of my children and my wife, loving what I know of you, and trusting what I do not yet know. I eagerly anticipate the chance to grow together, getting to know the woman you will become, and falling in love with you a little more every day. I promise to love and cherish you through whatever life may bring us." The tears rolled down her face but the smile never faltered. I slid my mother's wedding band to join the engagement ring she already had on. I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it.

"Bella, it is now your turn. Do you have the ring?" she nodded and turned to Angela who had it waiting for her. She took in a deep breath and slowly let it out before saying, "I, Isabella Swan, take you, Paul Koda to be my husband, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our union and love you more each day than I did the day before. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live."

And she placed the ring on my finger. I was finding it hard to breathe. Isabella Swan chose _me._

And together we said, "Entreat me not to leave you, or to return from following after you, for where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people. And where you die, I will die and there I will be buried. May the universe do with me and more if anything but death parts you from me."

"I now pronounce you man and wife. Paul, you may now kiss your bride." _Finally._ I took the one step needed to fill the space between me and my _wife_. I cupped her face gently relishing the way her eyes searched mine, she wanted me, and she loved me. Slowly I lowered my lips on to hers and kissed her gently. She wasn't having any of that. She ran her fingers through my hair and pulled me closer. If were weren't in front of thirty or so of our closest friends and family she would be in big trouble of getting sand all in that pretty little dress of hers. I bent her backward and gave her what she wanted. All of our guests hoot and hollered and again it took every ounce of strength to let her go, but I did, reluctantly. I looked her in the eyes and the intensity in our stare made my heart stutter a time or two.

"Friends and family, I now introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. Paul Koda." Again the cheers erupted. I held Bella's hand tightly in mine as we made our way back down the aisle, through the path and back into the house where I held her so close to me she was in danger of being permanently stuck to me. She jumped up in my arms and fused her lips with mine. The rest of the pack and theirs came in and found us like that and teased and catcalled. We hardly noticed.

After what seemed like too little time for us and more than enough time for everyone else we all sat down outside and had the reception there. There was every kind of food you can think of. The cake looked too perfect to eat. It was cream colored with brown accented flowers. I felt bad for cutting into it, but Bella made, so I did. Of course I got cake all in my face right after. Bella didn't get away unscathed either.

We ate and laughed and mingled with the people who loved us. After about an hour or so I clinked my glass and got everyone's attention. I stood up and let everyone know that I had something I wanted to give Bella. She looked at me surprised and happy. I grabbed her hand and sat her in a chair apart from everyone else. She looked like a queen sitting on a throne. I pulled out my guitar and stood in front her.

"This one is for you Baby." I winked at her and started strumming. Jesse McCartney said it best.

_I don't want another pretty face; I don't want just anyone to hold. I don't want my love to go to waste. I want you and your beautiful soul. You're the one I wanna chase; you're the one I wanna hold. I won't let another minute go to waste. I want you and your beautiful soul…_

I sang it to her and she cried. She let the tears fall down one after another. I kept on singing. I wanted her to know that I loved her and that I wanted her forever and ever and ever and ever. When I was done she took the guitar from my hands and leaned it up against the chair she had just vacated and put her hands on my face, the tears still streaming.

"You're prefect, you know that? You have my heart, you have my soul." She looked down and grabbed her stomach. Her eyes went wide as she looked up at me.

"Are you okay, Bella?" I said holding her close to me. She didn't speak she just nodded her head and grabbed my hand placing it on her stomach.

Ciqala kicked. I looked down at her and crushed my lips to hers. I had everything I could ever want.

It was Jake who interrupted us then.

"Are you ready, I think it's time for the best man speech…now you two sit down." We obliged and Jacob clinked his glass to get everyone's attention. Once he finally had it he proceeded with his Best Man Speech.

"For those of you who don't know me, I'm Jacob, the 'supposed' best man. First of all I'd like to raise a massive toast to two of the most beautiful, and wonderful and loving people I have ever had the pleasure to have in my life. So, if everybody can raise their glasses - A huge cheer to their future, our incredible fortune and to everyone having a blast at the celebration of this wonderful event."

A round of "Cheers." exploded from everyone's lips. Bella Smiled and it was hard to take my eyes off of her for even a second.

"So, before I _really_ get going, let me just say that the formative years that I have spent in the company of the groom means that he has had as much of a part in developing my sense of humor as anyone. So, although I have tried to make this speech as funny as possible, please blame Paul if it's not."

I shot Jake a look as everyone around us laughed.

"And my second disclaimer is…" he continued. "…that my speech does not contain any original material, so if anyone is offended it's got nothing to do with me." Another round of laughter sounded through the yard. I turned to look and Bella and she was holding on to her sides as she laughed. I kissed her cheek and turned back to Jake.

"So, I'm told that the best speech makers follow three simple rules; Stand up, speak up then very quickly shut up so I'll try to stick to that advice. In doing research I discovered that I'm supposed to sing the grooms praises, and tell you all about his many good points. Well, I'm very sorry to say, but I can't sing and I won't lie." This time I couldn't help but laugh with everyone else. Jacob was really being a ham tonight.

"I'm slightly bothered with the title of being the best man. If I'm the best man, then why is Bella marrying Paul?" He winked before continuing, "So, I'm just very happy to say that I'm _a pretty good man_ and that today _Paul_ is the best man. He is a man that I admire for many reasons, most notably, his generous nature. What, with him donating his body to science when he studied at Port Angeles University and preserved it in alcohol the whole time." I almost spit out the water I held up to my mouth to drink when he said this. Those two years in college _were_ something else.

"Now, I know it's traditional for the best man to act lyrical about the number of ex girlfriends the groom has had, but I don't want to get into all of that. Because, quite frankly, I find such male posturing vulgar and offensive to the bride, but suffice to say, Paul, number 72 (wink) that was your lucky one." Bella playfully smacked my arm and I shrugged. I loved that she was having such an awesome time with Jake's jokes.

"I also really should grab onto this once in a lifetime opportunity to reveal to you all Paul's past misdemeanors. Unfortunately I have been a part in most of these amazing events and I really don't want to tarnish my impeccable reputation." He laughed at his own joke right along everyone else. I heard Kim, Emily and Leah all say, 'Yeah right', 'Yeah, sure' and 'You have got to be kidding me.'

"I believe that marriage is a wonderful thing for Paul. It will teach him loyalty, self restraint and control, and it will develop in him a sense of responsibility, fair play and so many other qualities he just wouldn't need had he stayed single." I laughed out loud with the rest of our guests. My mother shot me a look that said…yeah he's right on the money. I laughed even harder.

"So, I'd just like to say to Paul, you're a lucky groom. You've married Bella who's beautiful, smart, funny, warm, loving and caring. She deserves a good husband…so thank God she married you before she found one." I could jump up and strangle him…he's lucky I like him.

"Now that you're married your level of domesticity needs to greatly improve. You must find where the kitchen is, and learn what the various mysterious objects contained within it actually do. Gone are the days of hitting speed dial and waiting forty five minutes. You're going to have to start transferring food onto dishes instead of eating it straight out of the sauce pan. And you know that wet area that the kitchens have? It's called a sink. The more you use it, the more Bella will love you." The laughter, of course, came greatly from the women in our families as the men all looked at each other guiltily and rolled their eyes.

"So, if we can all raise our glasses again and toast, to love, to laughter and to a _happily ever after_."

And with that the whole place went "awe." And Jake walked over to me and Bella. He placed a soft kiss on her cheek as he hugged her and then came to me and hugged with me all his wolf strength.

"Thank you man," I said so only he could hear me. "You truly are my best friend."

"Try topping that one at _my_ wedding." I laughed and messed up his hair. "It's a promise!"

Jake walked over to Leah and kissed her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Bella looked t them and then at me.

"I'm glad he's ok now."

"You and I both, Mrs. Koda." She giggled and threw herself in my arms. Today really was a perfect day.

************

http://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=WEVQJzF5OSA – Beautiful Soul Song (Acoustic)

http://i12(dot)photobucket(dot)com/albums/a224/ziomara_soto/MediaL2378(dot).jpg - Bella's Wedding Rings

http://www(dot)hefezandsons(dot).com/rings/mens/15-0534/15-0534-a(dot)jpg - Paul's Wedding Band

http://i12(dot)photobucket(dot)com/albums/a224/ziomara_soto/PaulTux1(dot)jpg - Paul's TUX

http://pics(dot)boards(dot)weddingbee(dot)com/44733(dot)bridesmaid1(dot)jpg – Bella's wedding dress

http://i12(dot)photobucket(dot)com/albums/a224/ziomara_soto/footjewelry(dot)gif – Bella's Foot Jewelry

http://i12(dot)photobucket(dot)com/albums/a224/ziomara_soto/bridesmaids(dot)gif - Bridesmaid Dresses

http://i12(dot)photobucket(dot)com/albums/a224/ziomara_soto/Trailinforest(dot)jpg – Backyard Trail Leading to First Beach

http://i12(dot)photobucket(dot)com/albums/a224/ziomara_soto/FirstBeachWedding(dot)jpg - First Beach Wedding

http://i12(dot)photobucket(dot)com/albums/a224/ziomara_soto/FirstBeachSunset(dot)jpg - First Beach Sunset

http://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=6wQ0vKu6MLg&feature=related – Wedding March (Emily Bear composer of this amazing song… made me cry when I first heard it. I hope you enjoy it…Paul and Bella certainly have!)

http://farm2(dot)static(dot)flickr(dot)com/1240/1294990041_01ab5151bf(dot)jpg - Wedding Cake

Also, I don't know if you all got the pun in the title of this chapter: "Wedding Bells" get it? Bells, Bella lmao!

Also, the speech Jacob gave…I stole it off YouTube. Lol I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I loved writing it. One more chapter to go…*tear*


	39. Epilogue

**Bella's POV**

Five months later….

Marriage life was blissful to say the least. I never thought I could be so happy in my life. It sounds so cliché, but I really did have my dream come true with Paul. It's funny to think that what you thought would be the best for you is completely wrong. You can think that you want your life to go one way but the universe throws you a curveball and you end up going down a completely different path. I never thought that I would love anyone more than I thought I loved Edward, well thank God he showed me who he really was. That situation was…well, fake. I had fallen in love with a vampire who pretended to be one way but was in reality a complete psychopath. After months of thinking it over I realized that I was in love with someone who never really existed. I've come to terms with that and have forgiven myself and am ok with it.

The whole thing with Jacob…well, I still don't know what I was thinking. I guess I could say that I'm still young and was learning the ways of love. I believe that after the whole thing with Edward, Jacob was always there for me. He had always been my best friend and he never once let an opportunity pass by where he wasn't letting me know how he felt about me. The love I felt for him as a friend must have confused me. I must have thought that I was in love with him when it was just friendship love. I guess it didn't help that he was physically attractive, either.

Anyway, I don't regret any of the decisions I have made, even the messed up ones. All of the obstacles, the heartache and stress have carved a path for me here…with Paul.

I do however wish I didn't hurt so many people, including myself in the process. What can I say? You live and you learn.

As for Paul, talk about a curveball! Paul, the one in the wolf pack that I was absolutely _not_ friends with. Still to this day I cannot believe he imprinted on me. Every time I think about it I laugh. I remembered when he first told me, I thought it was the universe's cosmic joke. What had I, Isabella Swan, done to deserve _that_? Wow. I was so close to losing him after he saved my life which in turn broke our imprint. Thankfully he never gave up on me. He loved me everyday – the lack of imprinting be damned. And here I was now. I had a wonderful husband, a beautiful house, car, job (as a writer) and soon a beautiful baby boy. Sure, I felt like a whale, I was huge! Who knew that something so small could make me so fat!

"You're not a whale, Bella. You're still skinny as a rail, it's only your belly that's gotten bigger…well, no your boobs too, but who says that's a bad thing?" Oh Paul, my very considerate husband. You know I punched him in his arm when he said that right?

The months passed and my belly grew. Ciqala absolutely loved his father. How do I know? He responded to his a voice. Every night Paul would lie on my stomach and listen to our son. He would talk to him, and sing to him. When he did this the baby always moved – always. It was something else too, something strange, really. When Paul sang to him, I felt Ciqala's emotions. I know it sounds really odd but it was a feeling that I just knew wasn't coming from me.

I mentioned this to Paul and the tears were uncontrolled as he smiled and hugged my belly. "I love you, Little One. I love you with everything I have." It was amazing to watch the changes in Paul. Gone are the days of his immaturity. Well, ok, let me back track there for a second. He was still a complete fool with the guys, and he was still quick to anger – but never with me. He was still the same Paul to everyone else, but when it came to me and our baby he was complete mush. He held back no emotion, no words were too sensitive for him to speak and he was never ashamed to shed a tear or two in front of me. He treated me as his wife, his lover and his best friend just as he promised he would. He was so good to me. I felt that I could never live up to make him feel as special as he made me feel. I really was the luckiest woman on the planet.

For the first couple months of our marriage we hardly left the house. We didn't go away for our honeymoon; we actually put all of our money that we would have spent on a trip to wherever in a college fund for Ciqala. We also didn't want to go anywhere because our house was so comfortable, not to mention we still had work to do on Ciqala's room. This was the one thing we argued about. Well, I guess 'argued' would be too strong of a word. We disagreed on how it should look. He wanted to paint it blue and have all the traditional baby blue things a boy room would normally have. I, on the other hand, wanted it green and yellow. Blue was so played out, in my opinion. He put up a fight, but in the end I won. Once the paint was on the walls Paul agreed with me and said it was indeed better than just blue. Of course he was quickly learning that I was always right. Ah, marriage.

The furniture in the baby room was 100% handmade. Jake insisted on making the crib once we told him that he and Leah would be the godparents. I don't think I had ever seen Jacob so surprised, happy and scared all at once. He, being the emotional fool he always was, teared up and hugged me and Paul over and over again. Leah was a mess herself. She and I had gotten really close over the past five months. We obviously had a lot more in common nowadays. She and Jake had gotten married shortly after our wedding. It was so beautiful and Leah begged me to be her maid of honor. She didn't need to of course I was more than happy.

For her first ultrasound Jake and the rest of the Pack were on patrols and so I went with her. Of course Jake was devastated he couldn't be there and promised her that patrol or not he would be there for the next one.

Well, I went with her and we found out she was having a baby girl. She and Jacob decided they would name her Aiyana after the girl Elias, the only other marked wolf, imprinted on.

We've bonded like soul sisters ever since that day. Paul and Jacob joked with each other, asking us if we had imprinted on each other. Leah being Leah decided that she would shock them into silence. She grabbed my face and kissed me hard (just lips) and then let me go to face the boys.

"Yes, actually, we have. Do either of you have a problem with that?" They stood there with their mouths open and their pants bulging, but said nothing. I took Leah's hand as seductively as I could manage without laughing my ass off and led her up the stairs. We laughed so hard that day. The boys never said a word since.

So, back to the baby room. Jake made the crib himself and I swear I cried like a baby when I saw the end result. It was perfect! I thanked him profusely and he blushed like a school boy. We were all one big family and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The rest of the furniture was made with Paul's strong (and sexy) hands; the changing table, the shelves and the rocking chair. He also made several different wooden toys. I drooled as I watched him work, and on more than one occasion I couldn't resist and jumped him in the work shed. I don't think he minded the interruption much.

Emily made him a yellow blanket and Sam made him a stuffed wolf animal. I won't forget the day that he gave it to us. Both Paul and I broke down like little babies. It was the same stuffed animal that was in Paul's vision. It was the closest we felt like we were to our son. Of course Sam was confused but then very emotional himself when we told him the whole story.

Seth was working at Mike Newton's sports shop and used a lot of the money he earned there to get piles and piles of clothes. He, I think, was just as excited about the arrival of both Ciqala and Aiyana as Paul, Jake Leah and I were. He stepped into a baby shop one day and has been a regular ever since. You got to love little Seth!

The rest of the pack loaded the baby room with toys, bottles, diapers towels pacifiers, basically every and anything you can imagine a baby would ever need. My mom, as was Paul's was just as bad, those two we driving me nuts with information and advice.

Once the room was complete Paul and I were able to just relax and enjoy each other's company. I loved being married. I think it suited us both.

"Bella," said Paul as he lifted up my feet on his lap and began to massage them. "How was your day?"

I sighed as I recalled the day I spent without him.

"Leah came over and helped me clean up the house. Seth stopped by to drop us off some food that his mother made. Once she left, I started writing up until you got home."

Paul has been working hard lately. Being a manager at his dad's auto shop was exciting for him but draining at the same time. I know that he'd rather be home with me and I knew for sure he was stressed out about me being home alone seeing as I was due to have Ciqala three days ago.

"Have you felt any pain, any discomfort?" I shook my head. Other than feeling like an elephant I felt perfectly fine.

"I told my father that I would be staying home with you for the next couple of days. I can't stand to be away from you when you're like this. I need to know you're ok." I nodded my head. I was so tired I couldn't even speak. He set my feet on the couch and moved over so that he was lying at my side. He rubbed my stomach with one hand and pushed the hair out of my face with the other.

"I love you, Bella."

"So then why aren't your lips on mine?" I replied. It was enough of an invite for him. He kissed me gently and sweetly. He knew this drove me mad. He knew that kissing me like that would awaken the animal in me. I reached up and pulled him closer and I kissed him hungrily. He smiled against my lips. He wanted me to do this…_the punk_.

"Is it bad that I want to take you here and now?" he said against my lips, his voice husky with desire.

I didn't get a chance to respond. I felt a cramp in my stomach and then it was nothing but panic from there. I grabbed on to the collar of Paul's shirt.

"My water just broke." He lifted me up and one fluid motion (thank God he's got wolf super strength) and rushed me to the car. The overnight emergency suit case was already in the trunk and he was speeding to the hospital as safely as he could. I grabbed on to my stomach as a wave of pain wracked though my entire body. I let out a piercing yell of both pain and fear as I clutched onto the arm rest.

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!" I cried.

"I know baby, it will be over soon." He lied.

"Oh my GOD! Can't you drive any _faster_?" He glanced at me for a quick second and then floored it. We got there faster than I thought possible. You know what's really ridiculous? Having to WAIT to get a room at the hospital when you feel like your insides are being ripped out. I cussed out every single nurse I encountered until I was obnoxious enough that they brought me into a room.

Paul was at my side in a heartbeat. The baby was coming and it was coming fast.

"No time for epidural." I heard the doctor say. I freaked out! Before I could cuss him out too, the baby was coming. I held on to Paul's hand and I was just thankful that I wasn't hurting him. He pushed my sweaty hair out of my face and whispered Ciqala's name over and over. He told me how much he loved me, but after about five minutes of pain I honestly thought I was going to die. I looked over at Paul and said, "You'll take care of him right… when I'm gone…?" his eyes went wide and the doctor looked over at him and said, "She's not dying, she just feels like she is." Paul looked back at me and smiled and said, "You're not getting away with leaving me that easily." And I was ordered to push again.

I don't know how long I was like that, pushing and crying, but in the end all the pain, all the discomfort, it was all forgotten when I heard my baby cry. I leaned back against the pillow and cried myself. I saw him being taken by the nurse and if I wasn't so tired and semi paralyzed I would have gotten up and taken my baby from her. I begged and pleaded for him. Paul was smiling and crying as the baby was brought over to me. The nurse rested him in my arms and said, "You have a beautiful, healthy baby boy."

He was so tiny and so beautiful and so perfect. His eyes were closed and he cried reaching out wanting to seek comfort. I gave him my finger and he grabbed on to it and stilled but he continued to cry.

"Ciqala," I breathed. "I'm your mommy." The tears spilled down my face. I looked up at Paul who beamed at me before returning his eyes to our little one's face.

"Do you want to hold him?" he nodded his head and carefully held him close.

"I…I love you, Ciqala. You don't know how long I've waited for you." And as soon as the words were out of Paul's mouth Ciqala stopped crying and opened his eyes. Paul froze and looked at me then back at him.

"I'm your daddy." Ciqala's eyes were so focused on Paul, it was shocking to watch. Paul bent down and gave him back to me and I held him in my arms reveling in the feeling of his tiny warm body.

"He's hungry." The nurse said and I knew exactly what I needed to do. It was the first time I truly felt like I had become a mother.

The drive home was a very, very scary one. I rode in the back with the baby. I couldn't seem to take my eyes off of him. It hadn't been enough at the hospital. Everyone showed up. Jake's reaction to the baby was most special to me. He held him, cooed him and spoke to him as if he were talking to me.

"Now, I'm your godfather. I'm supposed to spoil you. It's gonna happen, those big brown eyes of yours are exactly like your mothers and she gets away with a lot with me too. So, I'm here if you need me. Friend for life ok, little man? I love you, I really, really love you." He kissed his tiny forehead and cried and held him and cried some more.

He looked at me with a look that was almost a ghost of a look of the old Jake, the me and Jake, Jake, but it was gone in an instant. I might have even imagined it.

Leah came then and smothered Ciqala in kisses until finally she gave him back to me. He hasn't left my side since. It took us three times as long to get home than it did for us to get to the hospital. The fear of anything happening to our child in the car was absolutely terrifying for both Paul and I, but we managed to make it home safely.

Paul helped me out of the car and then carefully removed Ciqala from the car seat. We made our way inside and up to our room. Ciqala was fast asleep in the arms of his father. Paul looked exhausted and elated at the same time. We sat up against the head board and pillows on the bed staring at our son for hours as he slept. I fed him and changed him and then laid him in his crib for the first time. He didn't cry once. He stared almost knowingly at both Paul and I.

We continued to feast our eyes upon or little piece of perfection as he slept in the crib. Paul wrapped his arms around me and rested his head on my shoulder.

"We make pretty good babies." He whispered not wanting to wake Ciqala up. I chuckled softly.

"Yeah we do." I agreed with a smile on my face. He kissed my cheek and took my hand leading me out our baby's room and into our room.

He picked me up carefully in his arms and laid himself on the bed cuddling me close to him.

All of the strife I put myself through, before, felt like an endless winter, but now, here in the arms of the one I love, it was only the beginning of a blissful summer.


End file.
